SJ0026 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SJ0026 LRB099 12204 MST 35019 r

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Aurora University is a private university with a public purpose that desires to engage partners for the betterment of the community; and

WHEREAS, Aurora University and its partners desire to increase interest and achievement in science and mathematics prior to students matriculating to high school; and

WHEREAS, 43% of 2014 ACT-tested high school graduates in the United States met the ACT College Readiness Benchmark for mathematics; and

WHEREAS, 37% of 2014 ACT-tested high school graduates in the United States met the ACT College Readiness Benchmark for science; and

WHEREAS, Aurora University and its partners wrote a proposal to strengthen science and mathematics education in response to a community challenge from the Dunham Fund; and

WHEREAS, The John C. Dunham STEM Partnership School was authorized by Public Act 98-786, which provided that 2 or more contiguous school districts with all or a portion of their territory located within the same municipality may provide a math and science partnership school through an institution of higher learning; and

WHEREAS, Aurora University, Aurora East School District 131, Aurora West School District 129, Batavia School District 101, and Indian Prairie School District 204 entered into a governing agreement to operate the John C. Dunham STEM Partnership School under this law to inspire students to transformative academic achievement in science and mathematics; and

WHEREAS, Corporations, businesses, not-for-profits, and government entities have partnered with the university and school districts to develop and implement a curriculum that utilizes the community and university as a laboratory; and

WHEREAS, The success of the school's vision and the model depends in large measure on the on-going commitment of its partners; and

WHEREAS, The John C. Dunham STEM Partnership School can serve as a national model of education that can be replicated in other municipalities; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING HEREIN, that the John C. Dunham STEM Partnership School on the campus of Aurora University be recognized as a replicable model for education throughout the State of Illinois.