Congratulating and honoring Rodney Robinson on receiving the 2019 National Teacher of the Year Award.

IV 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 351 Congratulating and honoring Rodney Robinson on receiving the 2019 National Teacher of the Year Award. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 2, 2019 Mr. MCEACHIN (for himself, Mr. WITTMAN, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. GRIFFITH, Mr. BEYER, Mr. CLINE, Mrs. LURIA, Mr. RIGGLEMAN, Ms. SPANBERGER, and Ms. WEXTON) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor RESOLUTION Congratulating and honoring Rodney Robinson on receiving the 2019 National Teacher of the Year Award. Whereas, on April 24, 2019, Rodney Robinson was named National Teacher of the Year by the Council of Chief State School Officers; Whereas Rodney Robinson is a social studies teacher at Virgie Binford Education Center inside the Richmond Juvenile Detention Center; Whereas since he began teaching at Virgie Binford Education Center in 2015, Mr. Robinson has worked with disadvan- taged youth, equipping them with the knowledge, skills, and confidence necessary to move forward and accom- plish their goals; VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:01 May 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR351.IH HR351 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 351 IH Whereas Mr. Robinson’s work to help our most vulnerable students achieve educational excellence has improved the academic performance of countless students, strength- ening reading proficiency and working to ensure students graduate on time; Whereas Mr. Robinson helps disadvantaged youth realize their full potential by boosting self-esteem and creating a nurturing, safe, and inclusive environment where every student is encouraged to discuss the issues in their com- munities and past; Whereas Mr. Robinson inspires his students to overcome their challenges and achieve their dreams by adorning the barren walls of Virgie Binford Education Center with col- lege pennants and photos of inspirational historical fig- ures; Whereas Mr. Robinson is quoted as saying, ‘‘My kids have overcome some tremendous odds and been through some traumatic, horrific circumstances, yet they still triumph, they still have dreams, they will want to be doctors and lawyers and everything you can [think] of . . . Helping kids channel all that energy and dreams into something positive where they can see an outcome and a result, that is what I love most about teaching.’’; Whereas while attending the Yale National Initiative, Mr. Robinson developed his own student-focused curriculum for his social studies classes, empowering students to ad- vocate for societal change by exploring social justice issues, the history of the United States prison system, the effects of racial segregation, and more; VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:01 May 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR351.IH HR351 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 351 IH Whereas Mr. Robinson was inspired to become a teacher by his mother and has been teaching in Richmond, Virginia, for over 19 years; Whereas Mr. Robinson received his bachelor’s degree in his- tory from Virginia State University and his master’s de- gree in educational administration and supervision from Virginia Commonwealth University; Whereas prior to teaching at Virgie Binford Education Cen- ter, Mr. Robinson taught at several other schools in the greater Richmond area, including Lucille Brown Middle School, George Wythe High School, and Armstrong High School; Whereas Mr. Robinson is the first teacher from Richmond Public Schools to receive this prestigious award, and just the third in the history of the Commonwealth of Virginia; Whereas Mr. Robinson was selected for this award from among 57 award-winning teachers out of the more than 3.6 million teachers nationally; Whereas, as Teacher of the Year, Mr. Robinson will travel the country for the next year to advocate for ‘‘economic and cultural equity’’, seeking to ensure that all students have the resources necessary to be successful and work- ing to increase the number of teachers of color in public school systems; Whereas teachers are indispensable mentors in our society; and Whereas the continued and future success of America is inti- mately dependent on the vital work of the Nation’s edu- cators: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:01 May 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR351.IH HR351 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 351 IH (1) congratulates and honors Rodney Robinson 1 on receiving the 2019 National Teacher of the Year 2 Award; 3 (2) celebrates all four finalists for the National 4 Teacher of the Year Award for their remarkable 5 service and commitment to America’s youth; and 6 (3) respectfully requests that the Clerk of the 7 House of Representatives transmits an enrolled copy 8 of this resolution to— 9 (A) Rodney Robinson, the recipient of the 10 2019 National Teacher of the Year Award; and 11 (B) Jason Kamras, the Superintendent of 12 Richmond Public Schools. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:01 May 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR351.IH HR351 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS