2019 -- S 0183

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2019

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S E N A T E   R E S O L U T I O N

CONGRATULATING MICHELLE JOHNSON, A THIRD-GRADE TEACHER AT THE

MARY E. FOGARTY SCHOOL IN PROVIDENCE, ON WINNING THE 2018 MILKEN

EDUCATOR AWARD

     Introduced By: Senators McCaffrey, Metts, Lombardi, Lynch Prata, and Archambault

     Date Introduced: January 30, 2019

     Referred To: Recommended for Immediate Consideration

     WHEREAS, The Milken Educator Award, established in 1985 and first awarded in 1987,

is an initiative of the Milken Family Foundation that honors highly successful teachers and

provides each of the honorees with a $25,000 unrestricted cash grant. Teacher magazine has

proclaimed the Milken Educator Award to be the “Oscars of Teaching.” The award is given at

“surprise ceremonies” in which the recipient is “ambushed” at school and publicly honored with

the award. Approximately thirty to forty teachers receive the award annually and since 1987,

more than 2,600 teachers have been honored; and

     WHEREAS, Teacher Michelle Johnson, a resident of Warwick, arrived at the Mary E.

Fogarty School five years ago as the first teacher hired by the school’s new principal, Courtney

Monterecy. Ms. Monterecy had arrived with the mission of improving the Fogarty School, which

had a reputation as being a low-performing school, by motivating her teachers and improving the

school’s culture and appearance; and

     WHEREAS, Ms. Monterecy knew right away that Ms. Johnson was just what she was

seeking in a teacher. Ms. Johnson, who is certified to teach English as a second language, was a

model of efficiency, innovation and organization. In a classroom with numerous English language

learners and a combined eight different first languages, she developed a deep knowledge of each

one of her students and their performance through the use of data and focused interaction with

each student. She also held herself accountable by paying close attention to her performance in

the classroom and by setting goals for herself; and

     WHEREAS, Ms. Johnson’s success was also aided by her refusal to quit on any one of

her students. She stayed in close contact with their parents, focused time and energy on making

sure they attended school each day, and refused to give up on any child that was not on the path

to advance. With a struggling pupil she would redouble her efforts and look for other strategies

and approaches that would help the child. As a result of her tireless work and devotion, students

who were as much as two levels below grade when they entered her classroom were all gaining,

with some near their appropriate grade level when they moved on to the next grade level; and

     WHEREAS, In recognition of her devotion to the teaching profession and her immense

success in educating children from diverse backgrounds, Michelle Johnson was awarded the 2018

Milken Educator Award in a surprise ceremony in the gymnasium of the Mary E. Fogarty School

before a packed group of students, fellow teachers, Principal Monterecy, the State’s Education

Commissioner, Dr. Ken Wagner, and Jane Foley, the Senior Vice President of the Milken Family

Foundation. Ms. Johnson’s success is an inspiration to all Rhode Islanders; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

hereby congratulates Michelle Johnson, a third-grade teacher at the Mary E. Fogarty School in

Providence, on winning the 2018 Milken Educator Award; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to Ms. Michelle Johnson.

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