SALUTE TO ARTHUR DIXON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
SHARON ANN DALE
WHEREAS, Mrs. Sharon Ann Dale, an exemplary educator, is retiring as principal ofthe highly regarded Arthur Dixon Elementary School in the Chatham neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, a position she has held since the Spring of 2006; and
WHEREAS, Throughout her more than four decade career, Mrs. Dale has been a dedicated teacher and an extraordinary administrator in this city's public and parochial school systems. Initially working as a teacher for the Archdiocese of Chicago, she started in a third grade classroom. Subsequently, she taught first grade and preschool before becoming a preschool director; and
WHEREAS, Sharon Dale's innate aptitude for leadership led to her first principal position at St. John De LaSalle Academy where she served for nearly 20 years. At this midpoint in her career, Mrs. Dale decided to return to the classroom as a third grade teacher, but this time in the more challenging environment of the public schools. After becoming a reading specialist, she was eventually appointed an Assistant Principal, a position she held for eight years; and
WHEREAS, For the past decade, Sharon Dale has devoted herself to the children, teachers and parents of the Arthur Dixon Elementary School, a Math/ Science Magnet Cluster School ofthe Chicago Public Schools that focuses on the fine arts and includes classes in visual arts, music/band, dance and drama that is integrated into all aspects of the school curriculum; and
WHEREAS, Under Sharon Dale's stewardship, the Arthur Dixon Elementary School fosters the idea that art should be an integral part of the learning environment. Its curriculum also has a unique focus on African-American history and culture. In the autumn of 2012, a film by Pamela Sherrod Anderson, 'The Curators of Dixon School", that documented this concept was premiered at the prestigious Gene Siskel Film Center during that year's Black Harvest Film Festival. "What J found was really a grassroots effort. . .to make sure that art stayed in the picture of the school on an everyday basis," said the filmmaker after her two-year project at the school ended; and
WHEREAS Arthur Dixon Elementary School's designation as a Level 1 school, a model school within Chicago Public Schools and a school where children are valued above all is Sharon Dale's legacy. In her retirement, Mrs. Dale looks forward to spending time volunteering at the Advocate Breast Center, coaching principals, and shopping, dining, reading, and traveling, now therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and members ofthe City of Chicago City Council, assembled this 17,h Day of June, 2015 A.D., do hereby salute Mrs. Sharon Ann Dixon on her 40 years of steadfast service committed to the children ofthis city and extend or very best wishes for health, happiness and success in all her future undertakings.
RODERICK SAWYER Alderman - 6Lh Ward
BE TT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a suitable copy ofthis resolution be prepared and presented to Mrs. Sharon Ann Dixon.
