2023 -- S 1130

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023

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S E N A T E   R E S O L U T I O N

CONGRATULATING AND THANKING THE HONORABLE HANNA M. GALLO ON THE

OCCASION OF HER RETIREMENT FROM THE CRANSTON SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

     Introduced By: Senators Ruggerio, Pearson, Lombardo, F. Lombardi, Felag, Sosnowski,
Picard, LaMountain, Lauria, and Ciccone

     Date Introduced: June 15, 2023

     Referred To: Recommended for Immediate Consideration

     WHEREAS, The Honorable Hanna M. Gallo was born in Colorado Springs, but shortly

thereafter moved to Rhode Island, and grew up in the City of Providence. At a young age, her

parents very successfully instilled her with a tremendous work ethic and the desire to pursue

higher education; and

     WHEREAS, Senator Gallo attended a Catholic grammar school, St. Mary's Visitation

High School, and earned a degree in Liberal Arts from the Community College of Rhode Island,

and later attained a Business degree from CCRI. She and her husband, Russell, chose the Garden

City neighborhood in Cranston to make their home and raise their daughters, Julie and Laura, and

have lived there for 40 years; and

     WHEREAS, A devoted mom, when one of the Gallo girls was born with a hearing

impairment, Senator Gallo was inspired to pursue a degree in speech-language pathology. She

returned to school, earning a Bachelor of Science in Communicative Disorders and a Master of

Science in Speech Language from the University of Rhode Island; and

     WHEREAS, Senator Gallo initially began her teaching career as a Speech Language

Pathologist with the South Kingstown School Department in 1997, before joining the faculty of

the Cranston School Department in 2005, where she has been a Speech Language Pathologist

working with small groups of children in order to help them overcome speech impediments and

improve their oral communication skills; and

     WHEREAS, In addition, Senator Gallo's responsibilities as a SLP included organizing

and implementing therapy programs to meet the needs of the school's speech, language, and

hearing-impaired students, and assisting students with a panoply of speech and language related

challenges in order to enable them to meet performance standards; and

     WHEREAS, For Senator Gallo, her family always came first, so teaching became her

second career, and in January of 1999, she started her third job as a State Senator where she

incorporated her knowledge of children and education in order to very effectively Chair the

Senate Committee on Education for many years, and served on both the Board of Regents and

Commission on Civic Education; and

     WHEREAS, The Honorable Senator Gallo will be retiring from the Cranston School

Department, but will certainly continue to shape education in our State. Her teaching skills and

after-school programs have improved the educational experience and the lives of many young

people throughout her twenty-five years in teaching; and

     WHEREAS, Senator Gallo's accomplishments in support of education and civic

involvement have earned her numerous honors over the years including, a Distinguished Service

Award for school construction, the Paul Crowley Award, an award for Civic Engagement, and

induction into the Community College of Rhode Island Alumni Association's Society of the

Knights, which is given to alumni who have been active as community leaders, attained personal

and professional success, provided volunteer service to the college community and have brought

honor upon themselves and the college, to name but a few; and

     WHEREAS, The Cranston School system will be losing a valued teacher who has had a

positive and rewarding influence on the lives of her students, but there is little doubt that the

Honorable Hanna M. Gallo will continue to build a better educational system, a greener planet,

and a brighter tomorrow for future generations of Rhode Islanders; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island hereby congratulates and

thanks the Honorable Hanna M. Gallo as she retires from the Cranston School Department and

wishes her continued success and much happiness; 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 the Honorable Hanna M. Gallo.

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