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Meeting Date:
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12/21/2017 - 6:30 PM
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Category:
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Awards and Commendations
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Type:
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Info
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Subject:
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1. Excellence in Education Award - Lucinda J. Gordon (Posthumous)
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Strategic Plan Compatibility Statement:
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Goal 2 Student, Family and Community Engagement
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Attachments
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File Attachment:
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Background:
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Each month, the Milwaukee Board of School Directors recognizes an outstanding school, student, staff member, parent, or community member for a display of excellence, achievement, and innovation that may serve as an example to our school district and the entire Milwaukee community.
This month, the Milwaukee Board of School Directors is pleased to posthumously present the “Excellence in Education Award” to:
Lucinda J. Gordon
Lucinda Jackson Jacobs Gordon, a native of Chester Pennsylvania, came to Milwaukee as a field-placement student assigned to the Milwaukee County Bureau of Child Welfare in 1942. Mrs. Gordon was completing the last requirement needed to earn a Masters of Social Work from Smith College in Northampton, MA. Mrs. Gordon's undergraduate degree was in Education. However, upon graduation from Chester State Teachers College, she was unable to obtain a teaching position with the Chester, PA public school system because of her color. Undaunted, by race discrimination, Mrs. Gordon proceeded to seek another opportunity that would make her even more marketable.
She was diminutive in physical stature, but enormous in terms of her interests, vision, intellect, abilities and energy. A dynamic personality, she possessed the ability to marshal the necessary resources to implement her vision of a school for teenage parents. Prior to the establishment of the Lady Pitts School for Teenage Parents in the late 1960's, girls were expelled from school because of pregnancy, leaving them without a high school diploma and the necessary skills to parent a new life and care for themselves. It was obvious to Mrs. Gordon that the policy and practice of prohibiting school age parents from pursuing a public school education had a disastrous impact upon the community. The consequences of this policy was that the city, state, region and nation were being denied potential leaders, and thus, contributions for the larger good. Mrs. Gordon's tenacity and unrelenting drive resulted in the establishment of the Lady Pitts School for Teenage Parents. Students had access to health, counseling, and other services, in addition to a quality education. Mrs. Gordon served as the Lady Pitts School's first principal for a number of years. In this role, she touched many, many lives, not just the students but the staff as well as families. At her memorial service, one of the speakers, a retired MPS principal made a moving tribute to Mrs. Gordon, as her life-long mentor. That person, was Janie Hatton, a former teacher at Lady Pitts School and a recipient of the National Secondary Principal of the Year Award.
Before establishing Lady Pitts, Mrs. Gordon worked for the Bureau of Child Welfare, and other organizations that included the Milwaukee Urban League, as the Director of Community Services. She also held several leadership roles with the NAACP. In addition to supporting education with her time, talent, and financial resources, Mrs. Gordon was active in supporting all of the arts, specifically, the Milwaukee Art Museum by helping to form the African American Art Alliance. Her activism related to education, and the performing arts and music continued until she was well into her nineties. She began to slow down around the age of 97 or 98. She has left a legacy. Many of the students who attended Lady Pitts went on to earn degrees from area colleges and universities. We are grateful for Mrs. Lucinda Gordon's vision for a school for teenage parents. Today, pregnancy is no longer a barrier to public education or other opportunities to pursue a dream.
The Milwaukee Board of School Directors recognize and honor Lucinda J. Gordon, posthumously for her dedication, outstanding leadership, and commitment to excellence on behalf of the students of the Milwaukee Public Schools.
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Fiscal Impact Statement:
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Implementation and Assessment Plan
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Recommendation:
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Approvals:
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Recommended By:
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Signed By:
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Dr. Darienne Driver - Superintendent
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