SR0653 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0653 LRB093 23104 KEF 53070 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate were saddened to learn of the death of Dr. Barbara Ann Laffoon Sizemore of Chicago on July 24, 2004; and

WHEREAS, Barbara Ann was born in December 1927 to the union of Sylvester Walter Laffoon and Delila Mae Alexander Stewart; she was raised in Terre Haute, Indiana where she graduated high school at age 16; she earned a B.A. and an M.A. both from Northwestern University; she received a Ph.D. in Educational Administration from the University of Chicago; and

WHEREAS, She was a teacher and administrator with the Chicago public schools for 25 years from 1947 to 1972; she was the first black woman to head a big city school system when she was tapped as superintendent of schools for Washington, D.C., from 1973 to 1975; she was professor and interim chairman of the Department of Black Community, Research and Education at the University of Pittsburgh from 1977 to 1992; in 1992, she returned to Chicago, where she began her tenure as dean of the School of Education at DePaul University; at DePaul, she founded the School Achievement Structure, an organization that used the "Structured Ten Routines," a model that accelerates achievement and educational excellence in underachieving schools and districts; she retired in 1999 and lectured to thousands of educators and organizations about the model and other educational issues; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Sizemore was involved with numerous organizations where she worked diligently to bring equal access to educational opportunities for underserved and black children; she worked to desegregate the Pittsburg Public Schools, and was an instrumental member of Pittsburghers Against Apartheid, an organization that struggled to end apartheid in South Africa; and

WHEREAS, She was the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions and was a well-recognized scholar and author who penned over 20 chapters in books and 20 articles in journals; she authored, "The Ruptured Diamond: The Politics of the Decentralization of the District of Columbia Public Schools," and was completing a second book, which will be published posthumously; and

WHEREAS, She was an educator, public speaker, and scholar whose philosophy was that all children can learn and who throughout her career worked to close the achievement gap between black and white students; she encouraged educators to spend more time teaching vocabulary and grammar to black students and supported teaching traditional methods of phonics for children who cannot read, rather than using the newer methods that allowed children to write without regard to correct spelling; she will be remembered as a strong, independent, loving and giving woman; and

WHEREAS, The passing of Dr. Barbara Ann Laffoon Sizemore will be deeply felt by many, especially her children, Furman Sizemore, Jake Milliones, Kymara Chase, Furman G. Sizemore, Beatena Nance (LaRon), Dubois Milliones, Momar Milliones, and Marimba Milliones; her grandchildren; her godchildren; and her countless other family and friends; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the death of Dr. Barbara Ann Laffoon Sizemore along with all who knew and loved her and extend our sincere condolences to her family and friends; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Dr. Barbara Ann Laffoon Sizemore as a token of our deepest sympathy.