[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 191 (Tuesday, December 13, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2234-E2235]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CELEBRATING THE WORK OF THOMASENNIA AMOS OF THE PHILADELPHIA EDUCATION 
                                  FUND

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. CHAKA FATTAH

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 13, 2011

  Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Speaker, Philadelphia's educational advocacy 
community will be losing one of its most respected and versatile 
leaders with the retirement of Thomasennia Amos.
  Thomasennia Amos is stepping down as the Director of the College 
Access Program at the Philadelphia Education Fund, where she has served 
the cause of public education since 1999. Ms. Amos also has directed 
the Student Success Centers, a partnership between the College Access 
Program and the School District of Philadelphia to create a sustainable 
college-going culture within local neighborhood high schools. In 
addition, she has supervised the Scholarship Coordinator of the Ed 
Fund's Philadelphia Scholars.
  Among her earlier assignments at the Ed Fund, it is noteworthy that 
she served as Director of the GEAR UP Initiative (Gaining Early 
Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs). GEAR UP, which I 
developed and guided into law in 1998, has been a national as well as 
local success story, impacting the educational prospects, jump-starting 
the higher education opportunities and improving the life chances of 12 
million young people in 49 states plus U.S. territories. The GEAR UP 
partnership of the Ed Fund and the School District of Philadelphia has 
been a particularly fruitful one.
  The Philadelphia Education Fund is simply the latest stop for 
Thomasennia Amos in her rich and varied career throughout my home town. 
Before joining the Ed Fund, Ms. Amos served as an instructional 
supervisor in the School District of Philadelphia. Throughout her 
career, she has worked in professional development, supporting new 
teachers and introducing and coaching instructional best practices to 
school communities. She served under several superintendents in a 
central office capacity.
  Ms. Amos is a dedicated educator who has supported students and 
teachers in every region of the School District of Philadelphia. She 
has served as an Adjunct Faculty member at Temple University, 
University of Pennsylvania, Arcadia University, Drexel University, and 
Chestnut Hill College. She is also certified as a Principal, and has a 
strong personal commitment to improving education for Special Education 
students.
  Ms. Amos holds an M.Ed. in Special Education from Arcadia University, 
and a B.S. in Elementary Education and K-12 Special Education from 
Pennsylvania State University. She has won countless honors for 
educational achievement and advocacy, including, in 2010, an award from 
the Philadelphia Alliance of Black School Administrators.
  I ask my colleagues to join with me in congratulating Thomasennia 
Amos on a lifetime of hard work, dedication and success instilling 
generations of Philadelphia's young people, especially those from 
underserved communities with the tools, the will and the incentive to 
succeed. For an educator as talented as Ms. Amos, transitioning to 
retirement, this is the highest honor of all.

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