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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives wish to congratulate Dr. Kathryn Birkett on the | ||||||
| 4 | occasion of her retirement as Superintendent of Schools for | ||||||
| 5 | Indian Prairie School District 204; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, Dr. Birkett began serving as
Superintendent in | ||||||
| 7 | July of 2009; she currently
oversees the third largest school | ||||||
| 8 | district in the
State with 33 schools serving 29,000
students; | ||||||
| 9 | she has dedicated her career to District
204, beginning as a | ||||||
| 10 | teacher at Waubonsie Valley
High School in 1979; over the next | ||||||
| 11 | 3
decades, she moved up through the district,
serving as an | ||||||
| 12 | Assistant Principal, Steck
Elementary Principal, Neuqua Valley | ||||||
| 13 | High School
Principal, and Assistant/Deputy Superintendent; | ||||||
| 14 | and
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| 15 | WHEREAS, Dr. Birkett is active in the community, currently | ||||||
| 16 | serving as a member of the Naperville Rotary
Club and is on the | ||||||
| 17 | Executive Committee/Board of Directors of Metropolitan Chicago | ||||||
| 18 | YMCA; she is also a
board member of the Large Unit School | ||||||
| 19 | District Association, the Naperville Heritage Society, and the | ||||||
| 20 | Naperville
Development Partnership; she
previously served 10 | ||||||
| 21 | years on the Edward Hospital Board of Directors; and
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| 22 | WHEREAS, Dr. Birkett is one of 28 superintendents selected | ||||||
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| 1 | from across the nation to serve on
the League of Innovative | ||||||
| 2 | Schools as part of the Digital Promise Initiative of the United | ||||||
| 3 | States
Department of Education in Washington, D.C.; as part of | ||||||
| 4 | this cutting edge
technology leadership group, she has | ||||||
| 5 | implemented "Bring Your Own
Technology" into District 204 | ||||||
| 6 | classrooms; she is also one of 100 superintendents
selected | ||||||
| 7 | nationally to participate in the Education Research & | ||||||
| 8 | Development
Institute, looking at the latest innovative | ||||||
| 9 | educational programs and products; and
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| 10 | WHEREAS, During Dr. Birkett's tenure as superintendent, | ||||||
| 11 | District 204 has seen the highest
ACT scores achieved by | ||||||
| 12 | students, made progress in closing achievement gaps with
| ||||||
| 13 | minority students, placed the district on solid financial | ||||||
| 14 | footings, even in light of cuts
in State educational funding, | ||||||
| 15 | and realized strong community approval ratings in the
area of | ||||||
| 16 | communications; and
| ||||||
| 17 | WHEREAS, Dr. Birkett has a doctorate in Educational | ||||||
| 18 | Administration from
Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, a | ||||||
| 19 | master's degree also from
Northern Illinois University, and a | ||||||
| 20 | Bachelor of Science from Western Kentucky
University in Bowling | ||||||
| 21 | Green, Kentucky; she is a St. Charles High School graduate
and | ||||||
| 22 | outstanding alumna; therefore, be it
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| 23 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
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| 1 | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 2 | we congratulate Dr. Kathryn Birkett on her retirement as | ||||||
| 3 | Superintendent of Schools for Indian Prairie School District | ||||||
| 4 | 204, and wish her the best in all her future endeavors; and be | ||||||
| 5 | it further
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| 6 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 7 | presented to Dr. Birkett as an expression of our esteem and | ||||||
| 8 | respect.
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