Senate Resolution No. 937

BY: Senator VALESKY

HONORING Brigitte Hale upon the occasion of her
designation as recipient of the 2016 Parent Advocate
Award by the New York State Association Of Foreign
Language Teachers

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to acknowledge and
honor those dedicated and talented individuals within our midst, who
have and continue to inspire their communities through their tireless
efforts and their outstanding professional and personal accomplishments;
and

WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its
long-standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to honor
Brigitte Hale upon the occasion of her designation as recipient of the
2016 Parent Advocate Award by the New York State Association of Foreign
Language Teachers (NYSAFLT) at its 99th Annual Conference in October of
2016 at the Holiday Inn in Liverpool, New York; and

WHEREAS, The NYSAFLT Parent Advocate Award was created in 2015 to
honor a dedicated parent advocate of world language learning; Brigitte
Hale was nominated for the award by Fayetteville-Manlius High School
educators Richard Ernst, Denise Mahns and Kate Stewart who cited her
efforts in helping to save the German program at the
Fayetteville-Manlius Central School District; and

WHEREAS, The German program at the Fayetteville-Manlius School
District has been in existence for over 40 years, but in the Spring of
2011, this treasured part of the curriculum was threatened when many
school districts were confronted with the necessity to trim budgets; and

WHEREAS, Students in eighth grade who had signed up for German were
told that the enrollment was too low and they would have to choose
another language class, but Brigitte Hale, a parent and graduate of
Fayetteville-Manlius High School herself, was determined to save the
program and used a variety of methods to make the district understand
the importance of German classes to students and the community; and

WHEREAS, One such method was a letter-writing campaign which
included letters to the local newspapers, as well as a letter with more
than 50 signatures that was sent to the School's Superintendent and
Board of Education; Brigitte Hale, along with other concerned parents,
also utilized social media to raise awareness; and

WHEREAS, The Fayetteville-Manlius German advocates additionally went
to multiple school board meetings with students and spoke passionately
at open forums about why German should be kept at Fayetteville-Manlius;
Brigitte Hale also arranged for one-on-one meetings with the
Superintendent to personally discuss why German was the choice for her
and her children and why the language had to stay at the school; and

WHEREAS, The most significant aspect of Brigitte Hale's campaign was
a feature on the local news in which she and other parents were

interviewed about the elimination of German - a language of commerce,
economic power and high relevance in the global economy; and

WHEREAS, Brigitte Hale herself is a proud descendent of German
Americans; her parents arrived in 1963 at the New York Harbor via the
Hanseatic, bringing with them nothing but two wooden crates and a couple
hundred dollars; and

WHEREAS, It was very important to Brigitte Hale to ensure that her
daughters and future Fayetteville-Manlius students would be able to
access as many foreign language classes as possible as part of a worldly
curriculum; and

WHEREAS, As a solution, the School Board decided to offer a single
eighth-grade German course at Wellwood Middle School, and allowed
students at Eagle Hill Middle School, where enrollment was smaller, to
video-conference in the class; and

WHEREAS, Since then, German enrollments at Fayetteville-Manlius have
increased with the addition of classes in seventh and eighth grades and
at the high school; currently, the district offers six classes at the
middle school level and five high school classes; and

WHEREAS, Brigitte Hale has continued to support the German program
by attending her daughters' recognition assemblies for National German
Exam Awards, attending the German American Society of Central New York
Scholarship Night, being involved in the Syracuse Oktoberfest, and
attending National German Honor Society inductions; and

WHEREAS, Brigitte Hale's energy and enthusiasm helped to save the
German program at the Fayetteville-Manlius School District; and

WHEREAS, For these and many other reasons, Brigitte Hale stands as a
positive role model within her community due to her tireless efforts to
inspire others and create positive change; and

WHEREAS, Armed with a humanistic spirit and having contributed to
the growth and excellence of this great Empire State, Brigitte Hale, in
every capacity, has left a permanent mark on the Fayetteville-Manlius
Central School District and her community; she will be known as a
determined, innovative and genuinely concerned individual; now,
therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
honor Brigitte Hale upon the occasion of her designation as recipient of
the 2016 Parent Advocate Award by the New York State Association Of
Foreign Language Teachers; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to Brigitte Hale.