HR1572 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1572 LRB095 22787 GRL 53213 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to congratulate Amy Pugeda on the occasion of winning the Freedoms Foundation George Washington Honor Medal award for her notebook titled "The Balance of Scholarship & Citizenship"; and

WHEREAS, Amy Pugeda currently serves as a 3rd grade teacher at Johnson-Wabash Elementary School, a position she has worked at since the school's opening in August of 2001; the school's district, the Ferguson-Florissant School District, is the only predominately African-American school district to be fully accredited in North St. Louis, Missouri; and

WHEREAS, During her 13 years of public service, Amy Pugeda has made it her mission to integrate the values of self-pride, responsible citizenship, patriotism, and strong academics into her classroom in order to enable future generations to become the solid leaders and productive members of society that will be required for the enduring strength of the nation; in furtherance of these goals, her classroom is a positive environment where learning, high standards, achievement, and character development are held in equally high regards; and

WHEREAS, Amy Pugeda and her students participate in numerous activities in order to expose the children to important facets of our society; her class actively participates in the St. Louis Post Dispatch's Newspapers for Education program, where the class reads the newspaper in order to gain awareness of current events and the world around them; the class hosts many guest speakers, who help the children develop a knowledge of careers; the class has also adopted a United States Air Force soldier overseas to communicate with and has communicated with United States Representative William "Lacy" Clay, Jr. to express their thoughts and ides to improve the environment; and

WHEREAS, Amy Pugeda currently serves as the student council leader at Johnson-Wabash Elementary School; as student council leader, she has participated in numerous charitable events at the school, including the raising of over $1,000 in charitable donations for the American Diabetes Association and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and participation in The Power of 11 Cents: A Celebration of Our Nation's Patriotism fund; the class has also organized and conducted a successful food drive for a local food pantry and a fundraising drive to provide hats, scarves, mittens, socks, and gift cards for those in need at the school; and

WHEREAS, Amy Pugeda's students excel in their studies as a result of her inspired leadership; her class has been recognized for scoring in the Top Ten for Missouri for their standardized Missouri Assessment Program scores and have achieved reading gains of at least one year's growth for 100 percent of her class; and

WHEREAS, Amy Pugeda's dedication to her profession, her willingness to serve her community, and her unwavering patriotism make her a model for the people of the State of Illinois; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Amy Pugeda on the occasion of winning the Freedoms Foundation George Washington Honor Medal award and wish her continued success and happiness in the future; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Amy Pugeda as a symbol of our esteem and respect.