SASED Honors Retiring Administrators
On June 9, 2010 friends and family gathered to honor three of SASED’s veteran administrators who retired at the end of the 2009-2010 school year. Ruth Henning of Project CHOICES, Larry Solomon of the Southeast Alternative School and Anne Burgoni of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing program have worked as a part of this organization for 21, 28 and 34 years respectively! They have had a tremendous impact on the students, families and districts of SASED, DuPage and West Cook counties and across the state. They were honored at a surprise retirement party at the Medinah Shrine Center in Addison. The evening started with a reception where colleagues dropped by to say congratulations and to watch as the honorees were presented with “Buckets” containing the things to do (and some fun tools to do them with) during their retirement. After that, approximately 60 folks attended a formal dinner with the retirees where they were roasted and feted by friends and family. Each retiree was also recognized by SASED and given an engraved glass plaque for their years of service.
- Twenty-one years ago, Ruth Henning was there at the inception of the Project CHOICES Grant and has spearheaded the statewide initiative ever since. Ruth’s work to help districts build capacity to move students with disabilities into less restrictive and integrated educational settings with their non-disabled peers has had a tremendous impact on school systems across the state as well as individual students. There were several moving tributes that evening by the students who directly benefited from Ruth’s leadership and vision.
- Larry Solomon has served SASED in several capacities over the past 28 years. Behavior Management Specialist, ESY Coordinator, and District Administrator were some of his roles, but his impact and legacy will be recognized for his years as the Assistant Principal and then Principal of the Southeast Alternative School. The “Top Ten List of Things to Know About Larry Solomon” was a funny but poignant reminder of his significant contributions to the Alternative School, its students and staff members.
- Anne Burgoni has spent 34 years of her career associated with the DuPage/West Cook program for students who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing and even more specifically, right in Westmont Junior High School. Anne started as a teacher in the Hearing Impaired Classroom at Westmont but her leadership skills were soon recognized and she was promoted to team leader, then supervisor at the Junior High. She then became Program Coordinator for several classrooms across the region but always maintained her association with Westmont Junior High. Several of her longtime friends choose to celebrate Anne’s contributions through her favorite venue, song! Live and taped performances paid tribute to her dedication to her field but also to her humor and compassion.
Once again on behalf of the SASED Board of Control, and all the students, families and educators across the county and the state that these dedicated educators have influenced over their long careers, we thank them for their years of service and congratulate them on their retirement. We will miss them all.
