LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION honoring David Rivera upon the occasion of his
designation as recipient of the 2014 Dr. Shine Award by the Manhasset
Board of Education

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to act, in accord with
its long-standing traditions, honoring the youth of today, and leaders
of tomorrow, whose character and achievements best exemplify the ideals
and values cherished by this great State and Nation; and
WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is justly proud to honor David Rivera
upon the occasion of his designation as recipient of the 2014 Dr. Shine
Award by the Manhasset Board of Education; and
WHEREAS, The coveted Dr. Shine Award memorializes the legacy of Dr.
Shine, whose progressive leadership embraces a commitment to providing
the best educational opportunity for each and every student; the award
recognizes young people who have the courage to work towards the
fulfillment of a vision for themselves through a strong humanitarian
commitment to others; and
WHEREAS, David Rivera is currently in the 11th grade at Manhasset High
School; his hard work in the classroom inspires other students to
achieve success, and his ability to overcome obstacles is well known
within the school; and
WHEREAS, In 2010, David Rivera arrived in the United States from El
Salvador and was placed in regular 7th grade classes with ESL support
services; despite support, he failed all of his classes that year due to
not yet understanding English; and
WHEREAS, Then David Rivera was enrolled in Mrs. Doulton's Intensive
Reading class; when he entered the class, he demonstrated little confi-
dence and felt that he would likely fail all of his classes again that
year; at the time, his only goal was to learn how to read, so he could
leave school at age 16, and get a job; and
WHEREAS, After a few short weeks with Mrs. Doulton, David Rivera's
extraordinary transformation had begun; he smiled more in school and
started to interact with staff and the other students; he was happy with
the progress he was making in class and his attitude towards school
greatly improved; and
WHEREAS, David Rivera's subject class teachers noticed an improvement
in his effort as well; through his hard work and support, David passed
8th grade English and Social Studies that year; and
WHEREAS, David Rivera worked very hard to improve his English language
and reading skills; he would read the newspaper with his classmates,
assisted others, and often borrowed Read 180 books from the library to
read at home during weekends and holidays; and
WHEREAS, This remarkable young man was determined to improve his read-
ing comprehension so he could independently succeed in his classes; by
the end of 8th grade, David's lexile score has risen a remarkable 500
points; in December of his 9th grade, it was determined through testing
that he was an advanced decoder; and
WHEREAS, David Rivera's success extended to his other classes; he
earned mostly As and Bs in his content-area subjects that second quar-
ter; since then, he has overcome many obstacles and has given credit to
the reading intervention that he received; and
WHEREAS, David Rivera Believes System 44 helped him to communicate
with other people, and because of this, he can get more involved in
school activities and make friends; the world is his oyster, because he
can now effectively communicate with his peers and teachers and has
demonstrated that he has become a lifelong reader and now has the tools
and motivation to succeed in life; and

WHEREAS, Since it is the attitude of our children that will most
influence out future course of government, the future of our society is
dependent upon our instilling within our children the concepts of indi-
vidual responsibility and good citizenship; and
WHEREAS, Throughout New York State, our young people are lovingly and
thoughtfully demonstrating a sense of civic and community responsibility
in a variety of socially oriented projects for the betterment of their
neighbors and neighborhoods; and
WHEREAS, David Rivera now stands with just pride in assessing his
achievements; recognizing the value of his experience, the satisfaction
of his labors and the joy of his accomplishments, appreciative of the
support of his family and teachers, and eager to face the challenge of
new experience; now, therefor, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
honor David Rivera upon the occasion of his designation as recipient of
the 2014 Dr. Shine Award by the Manhasset Board of Education; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitable engrossed, be tran-
smitted to David Rivera.