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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, State Representative Monique D. Davis and the
3Illinois House of Representatives congratulate Dr. Jo Ann
4Roberts on the occasion of her retirement as Intervention
5Officer and Education Manager for Turnaround Schools for
6Chicago Public School District 299 on June 30, 2012; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Jo Ann Roberts earned her bachelor's and master's
8degrees in speech pathology from Wayne State University in
9Detroit, Michigan; she subsequently earned her Ph.D. in
10educational administration from Northwestern University in
111977 and pursued post-doctoral work at Harvard University
12(1991), the University of Southern California (1992), and
13Motorola University (1997); and
 
14    WHEREAS, Jo Ann Roberts began her educational career as a
15speech and language pathologist for Chicago Public School
16District 299 in 1971; in 1978, she became the Director of the
17District 299 Speech and Language Pathology Department's
18Special Needs Unit; in 1988, she relocated to Rock Island/Milan
19School District 41, where she became the Director of Special
20Services and Assistant to the Superintendent; in 1990, she
21became the Superintendent of Schools for the Muskegon Heights
22Public Schools in Muskegon Heights, Michigan; in 1993, she
23moved back to CPS District 299 to serve as Chief Deputy

 

 

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1Superintendent; that following year, she accepted the position
2of Principal at Charles Wacker Elementary School; in 1996, she
3was chosen to serve as Superintendent of Hazel Crest School
4District 152 1/2, where she served until 1998; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Jo Ann Roberts began serving as the Intervention
6Officer and Education Manager for Turnaround Schools for CPS
7District 299 in 1998; in that capacity, she worked to improve
8the academic and fiscal affairs of schools that showed poor
9performance on State and national achievement tests; under her
10direction, most of the schools in question were removed from
11probationary status within 2 years; during her tenure at
12District 299, she also collaborated with parents, communities,
13and school leaders to create school development plans, improved
14instructional services and academic scores within the
15district, created and implemented suitable budgets for
16academic initiatives, and provided support for the district's
17intervention teams and teachers on effective instructional
18practices; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Jo Ann Roberts is the author of numerous
20publications, including "Legitimacy of the Black Language"
21(1972), Speech and Language for the Learning Disabilities
22Child" (1973), "Learning to Talk" (1974), "Speech Correction
23for the Educable Mentally Handicapped Child" (1974), and "An
24Overview of the Chicago Board of Education Title I Program for

 

 

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1Speech and Language" (1980); and
 
2    WHEREAS, Jo Ann Roberts has been the recipient of numerous
3awards and accolades, including the Who's Who in the Midwest
4designation (1978 - present), the Who's Who in American Women
5designation (1980 - present), the International Who's Who in
6Community Services designation (1982 - present), the Black
7Achievement Award for Excellence in Education from the Q.C.
8Chapter of Blacks in Government (1990), the Who's Who in the
9World designation (1995 - present), and the Who's Who in
10Education designation (1997 - present); she was also featured
11in a New York Times article in 2010 and was honored by the
12Rainbow PUSH Coalition as an Outstanding Educator in 2011; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Jo Ann Roberts serves as a model of hard work,
14integrity, and dedication for the people of the State of
15Illinois; therefore, be it
 
16    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
17NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
18we congratulate Dr. Jo Ann Roberts on the occasion of her
19retirement and wish her many happy and healthy retirement
20years; and be it further
 
21    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
22presented to Jo Ann Roberts as a symbol of our esteem and

 

 

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1respect.