HR0436 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0436 LRB096 12890 GRL 26733 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to congratulate Graciela Shelley on the occasion of her retirement as principal of Darwin Elementary School in Chicago; and

WHEREAS, Graciela Shelley is a native of Santiago, Chile, where she graduated from Sacred Heart preparatory school; she met her husband, John, when he was on a two-year Peace Corps assignment in Chile; soon after their marriage, the couple came to the United States in 1965; before beginning her career in the Chicago Public School system, she devoted herself to raising her three children, Robert, Stephanie, and Michael, in Evanston; and

WHEREAS, Graciela Shelley received her bachelor's degree with High Honors from Northeastern University, her master's degree in Administration from Chicago State University, and her Educational Specialist degree from Northern Illinois University; she has also attended summer institutes at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid, Spain, the Universidad de Puebla in Mexico, the University of Loyola in Rome, Italy, and the CIEPE in Paris, France; and

WHEREAS, Graciela Shelley has worked for the Chicago Public Schools for the past 32 years; she was hired in 1977 as a Spanish Bilingual teacher at Pierce School, where she taught for six years; for the next 26 years, she served as a school administrator, beginning her work as a District and City-wide Bilingual Facilitator, followed by her role as a District Three Administrator; and

WHEREAS, In 1995, Graciela Shelley was appointed principal of Darwin School; as principal, she first focused on establishing high expectations for students and teachers in a goal-oriented and data-driven effort to improve student performance; as a result of her leadership, Darwin School has been named an AMPS school for its excellence in academic programs and administrative practices; the school was also recognized for student improvement by former school system CEO Arne Duncan and was identified by Chicago Mayor Richard Daley as one of 27 CPS schools that have demonstrated continuous gains on the ISAT for the past seven years; and

WHEREAS, As principal of a low-income school, Graciela Shelley has sought to expand the life experience and awareness of her students beyond what they would obtain from an academic curriculum alone; through international partnerships with the Municipality of Milan, Italy, and its local schools, and with local schools in Santiago, Chile, she has sent students to Italy and Chile and has sponsored teacher exchange programs with both countries and a reciprocal student exchange with Chile; she has also reached out to the local community to make connections with role-modeling professionals, such as the Chicago legal firm of Holland and Knight, which has established an important relationship with students at Darwin; on a weekly basis, the firm hosts students in their offices downtown and visits the school for a variety of activities, including tutoring in reading and the discussion of legal cases; and

WHEREAS, Following her retirement, Graciela Shelley plans to write, work with social justice organizations, travel, and spend quality time with her six grandchildren; and

WHEREAS, Graciela Shelley serves as a model of hard work, integrity, and dedication for the people of the State of Illinois; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Graciela Shelley on the occasion of her retirement and wish her many happy and healthy retirement years; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Graciela Shelley as a symbol of our esteem and respect.