07 LC
96 2595
House
Resolution 639
By:
Representatives Shipp of the
58th,
Byrd of the
20th,
Kaiser of the
59th,
Drenner of the
86th,
Abrams of the
84th,
and others
A
RESOLUTION
Commending
the Imagine Wesley International Academy; and for other purposes.
WHEREAS,
Imagine Wesley International Academy will be a tuition-free, public charter
school, serving students from kindergarten through eighth grade in a single
gender setting, and
WHEREAS,
The Imagine Wesley International Academy will be located at 1049 Custer Avenue
just west of Moreland Avenue, near the Grant Park and East Atlanta neighborhoods
and convenient to I-85/75 and I-20, and
WHEREAS,
the charter for the Imagine Wesley International Academy has recently been
approved by the Atlanta Public School System, and
WHEREAS,
the Imagine Wesley International Academy expects 300 students to enroll in
classes in 2007, and
WHEREAS,
students will participate in a curriculum that follows the guidelines set by
the
International Baccalaureate Organization´s (IBO) Primary Years Program (PYP) and Middle Years Program (MYP), and
International Baccalaureate Organization´s (IBO) Primary Years Program (PYP) and Middle Years Program (MYP), and
WHEREAS,
the school will explore and celebrate cultural differences in an academically
challenging, nurturing and intentionally multiethnic environment,
and
WHEREAS,
the children will have the great fortune of incorporating a second language
(Mandarin) into their everyday lives starting in kindergarten, and
WHEREAS,
the goal is to encourage the children to develop into global thinkers and
lifelong learners, and
WHEREAS,
classes will be separate for girls and boys, with equal access for all students
to a safe and modern facility, qualified teachers, and high standards, thereby
offering the benefits of single gender instruction, while ensuring equal
opportunity for boys and girls alike, and
WHEREAS,
single gender classrooms have broad bipartisan support from leaders such as U.S.
Senator Hillary Clinton and U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, and
WHEREAS,
U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings has stated, "Research shows that
some students may learn better in single-sex education environments. The
Department of Education is committed to giving communities more choices in how
they go about offering varied learning environments to their students. These
final regulations permit communities to establish single sex schools and classes
as another means of meeting the needs of students. They also establish that
enrollment in a single sex class should be a completely voluntary option for
students and their families and they uphold the prohibitions against
discrimination of Title IX. Every child should receive a high quality education
in America and every school and district deserves the tools to provide
it."
NOW,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that the members of
this body join in commending the Atlanta Public School System and its public
charter school, Imagine Wesley International Academy, and recognizing their
innovative approach to expanding the educational options to the families and
children of Atlanta and its environs.
BE
IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized
and directed to transmit an appropriate copy of this resolution to Dr. Rebecca
A. Gray, chairperson of the Board of the Imagine Wesley International Academy.