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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives wish to honor Dr. Shirley Antwi-Barfi,
4 Principal of the Jens Jensen Math, Science, and Tech Scholastic
5 Academy and the Dorie Miller Child Parent Center on the
6 occasion of her retirement after 36 years of service; and
 
7     WHEREAS, Shirley was born in Mobile, Alabama to William and
8 Letha West; she was brought as a 10-month-old baby, along with
9 her sister, Doris West (Myhand), to the Westside of Chicago and
10 was raised in Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Church under the
11 pastorate of Rev. H.R. Stephenson; she now lives in Maywood and
12 attends the First Baptist Church of Melrose Park under the
13 pastorate of Rev. John L. Belser, Sr., where she has been a
14 Sunday School teacher for many years, now teaching teens; and
 
15     WHEREAS, She was united in marriage to Frank Quabena
16 Antwi-Barfi in May of 1972 at Zion Hill Church; she and her
17 husband have two daughters, Amma Letha and Adwoa Victoria
18 Antwi-Barfi; and
 
19     WHEREAS, Shirley Antwi-Barfi began teaching for the
20 Chicago Public Schools at the Ignace Paderewski Elementary
21 School in 1971; in 1974 she joined the teaching staff of the
22 Jensen/Miller schools, remaining there as an educator until

 

 

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1 1993, when she became the contract principal at the William
2 Penn School, which she attended as a child; she was recognized
3 by many and accepted several consecutive principal contracts at
4 the school; and
 
5     WHEREAS, She submitted her resignation and retirement
6 papers to the Board of Education in October of 2006, leaving
7 her school with an all-time high of 65% of the student body
8 meeting or exceeding the standards assessed on the Illinois
9 Standards Achievement Test (ISAT); and
 
10     WHEREAS, In 1990, seeing the need for Afrocentric materials
11 for the predominantly African-American student body at
12 Jensen/Miller Academy, she initiated "The Indian Lakes
13 Africa-centered Curriculum Development Project", begun in
14 conjunction with Northeastern University of Illinois' Center
15 for Inner City Studies staff under the auspices of the late
16 historian, Dr. Jacob Carruthers, and the teaching staff of
17 Jensen and Miller schools; she was the Project Director at
18 Indian Lakes Resort, in Itasca; in addition to spearheading the
19 team's massive organizational efforts, including the
20 publication and distribution of the curriculum materials that
21 had been developed from the Project, a provision for lane
22 placement credit was also established by her between
23 Northeastern officials and CPS officials for the benefit of her
24 colleagues and staff participants; and
 

 

 

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1     WHEREAS, Shirley Antwi-Barfi established priority goals at
2 the school, to focus the curriculum initiatives on mathematics,
3 science, and technology integration within the program and to
4 accomplish the following feats: that the Jensen/Miller Academy
5 would be a scholarly technological institution that sets its
6 mark on every child who passes through its doors - we care and
7 we prepare; that the instructional leadership facilitates the
8 staff so that schooling is completely child-centered - a place
9 where students are nurtured with positive self-feelings of "I
10 can do it!"; that all employees care and take pride in the
11 services provided, making a united effort on behalf of the
12 students; that the schools' educational program would have as
13 its focus a "thinking-centered" curriculum, with teachers
14 modeling metacognition, the how-to-think-about-thinking
15 approach to learning; that there would be many opportunities
16 for staff, students, and parents to explore and problem solve;
17 that there would be a strong emphasis on reading and writing
18 strategies, rather than the teaching of isolated skills, which
19 would be well developed by the end of the primary grades; that
20 extensive staff development would meet the needs of the staff
21 so that they could provide a learning environment for the
22 entire community that guarantees preparedness for the job
23 skills needed for the 21st century; that the teacher's role
24 would be facilitative, providing instruction that engages and
25 guides the minds of the students so that they are eager to

 

 

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1 learn; that the school would become the center for the child's
2 value system; that the school would be careful to instill
3 character education in the young minds of the students as well
4 as academic education; that lessons would relate to the child's
5 natural curiosity; that all staff would understand that
6 students constantly seek meaning for all facets of their
7 experiences, their emotions and spiritual-well being included;
8 that they need us to help them see how they relate to others,
9 as they follow the positive examples set before them; and
 
10     WHEREAS, Dr. Shirley Antwi-Barfi also provided landscaping
11 of lawns and upkeep, including a clean and beautified school
12 facility, inlaid bricking installed around trees, window
13 guards installed all around the first floor of the school,
14 student art murals in the corridors, lunchroom, an African
15 student-centered ceramic mosaic art installed on the
16 playground side of the building, and concrete slabs installed
17 with grounding all along the schools' property line; Jensen
18 Academy became the first Chicago public elementary school to
19 extend schooling to Saturdays, as well as host Chess League
20 tournaments, 13 divisions of sports for the student body,
21 including soccer and golf, along with 4 consecutive years of
22 City Championships for 7/8th grade girls basketball teams; and
 
23     WHEREAS, Under her leadership the mission of the school has
24 embraced students' varied learning styles and multiple

 

 

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1 intelligences, including those with special needs, so that
2 teachers encourage students to achieve their dreams; and
 
3     WHEREAS, Shirley Antwi-Barfi graduated from William Penn
4 Elementary and Carter H. Harrison High School; she attended
5 Wilson Jr. College, attaining an Associate of Arts Degree, and
6 attended Roosevelt University Chicago and Chicago Music
7 College, attaining a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Philosophy,
8 with a minor in Cultural Studies and Music Education; she then
9 attended Northeastern University of Illinois, Jacob Carruthers
10 Center for Inner City Studies, attaining a Master of Arts
11 Degree in Inner City Studies in 1976; she attended Loyola
12 University Chicago, attaining a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in
13 Cultural and Educational Policy Studies in December 2005; and
 
14     WHEREAS, Dr. Shirley Antwi-Barfi was inducted into the
15 Oxford Round Table in July 2006 at the University of Oxford, as
16 a Presenter with a paper entitled "The Africa Problem and
17 American Education Policy", excerpted from her Dissertation;
18 and
 
19     WHEREAS, Dr. Shirley Antwi-Barfi plans to pursue other
20 venues upon her retirement; therefore, be it
 
21     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
22 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we

 

 

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1 congratulate Shirley Antwi-Barfi on her retirement from the
2 Jens Jensen Math, Science, Tech Scholastic Academy and the
3 Dorie Miller Child Parent Center and wish her continued success
4 in the future; and be it further
 
5     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
6 presented to Principal Shirley Antwi-Barfi as a sign of our
7 affection, our gratitude, and our respect.