Assembly Resolution No. 1307

BY: M. of A. Bronson

COMMENDING Dr. Kenneth Graham upon the occasion of
his retirement after almost 20 years of dedicated
service to the Rush-Henrietta Central School
District

WHEREAS, New York State's commitment to education is unparalleled;
its history and stature are secured by the superlative caliber of its
educational professionals and the students they inspire; and

WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body to acknowledge
the significant milestones in the distinguished careers of those
outstanding educational leaders, whose dedication and achievements have
been instrumental in developing character and academic excellence in the
young people of New York State; and

WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its
long-standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to
commend Dr. Kenneth Graham upon the occasion of his retirement after
almost 20 years of dedicated service to the Rush-Henrietta Central
School District of Henrietta, New York; and

WHEREAS, For 40 years, Dr. Kenneth Graham has served as an educator;
in 1999, he joined the Rush-Henrietta Central School District; the
longest-serving school superintendent in Monroe County, he will
officially retire in July of 2018; and

WHEREAS, Throughout his tenure, Dr. Kenneth Graham has never stopped
looking for ways to make the District a better place for students to
learn; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Kenneth Graham led the school district through three
major facilities improvements projects which included a new
transportation and operations center; significant renovations to the
junior high schools and Senior High School, including numerous athletics
fields; and the replacement of a dilapidated administration building;
and

WHEREAS, Under Dr. Kenneth Graham's luminous leadership, the
Rush-Henrietta Central School District implemented its successful
small-class-size initiative; at the elementary level, the average class
size in grades Kindergarten through third grade is 15 students, offering
more personalized instructional time for each child; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Kenneth Graham also helped the district become a leader
in the use of instructional technology in the classroom, and
demonstrated great leadership on behalf of students with disabilities,
championing an inclusion movement which allowed more students to be
educated in their home district; and

WHEREAS, In addition, Dr. Kenneth Graham was an early advocate for
standards-based education in Rush-Henrietta, urging the district to
articulate clearly what it expects students to know and be able to do;
overseeing the creation of curriculum maps and common learning

assessments that are still used and updated today; and becoming more
proactive in monitoring student progress to ensure timely academic
intervention; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Kenneth Graham also assisted Rush-Henrietta to
institute Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), which
calls on staff members to teach students about desired character traits,
acknowledge students who demonstrate these aspects of good citizenship,
and reteach students about these expectations when their choices and
conduct require it; and

WHEREAS, During the last four years, Dr. Kenneth Graham devoted his
time and energy to a comprehensive reconfiguration plan for the school
district, which was enacted in September of 2017; as part of this
agenda, he advocated for the Board of Education's Full-Day Kindergarten
and Enrollment Management Proposal; and

WHEREAS, Throughout his outstanding career as an educator, Dr.
Kenneth Graham has truly strived to develop learning environments in
which all students can thrive; he has coupled high expectations with
rich opportunities, making innovation, improvement, and success for all
children a public school reality; and

WHEREAS, Kenneth Graham's loyalty to the district and to his staff
is truly admirable; all who have had the privilege to work with him
through the years have known him to be an honest and hard-working
administrator who always made the needs and concerns of his students his
top priority; and

WHEREAS, The driving force behind Dr. Kenneth Graham's commitment to
public education is his belief that all children have the potential to
do great things if given the opportunity; he prides himself on creating
an educational environment where students come first and expectations
are high; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commend Dr. Kenneth Graham upon the occasion of his retirement after
almost 20 years of dedicated service to the Rush-Henrietta Central
School District, and to wish him continued success in all his future
endeavors; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to Dr. Kenneth Graham.