HR0305LRB098 11956 MST 45352 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are pleased to recognize The Ancona School in
4Chicago on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of its
5founding; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The Ancona School was started in the autumn of
71962 by 5 young Hyde Park neighborhood families; then called
8The Ancona Montessori School, it opened in a storefront on 53rd
9Street and Lake Park Blvd. with the Montessori-inspired concept
10that instead of having a passive role between children and
11learning, children at the new school would be empowered through
12choice and independence to pursue their own interests and
13intellectual challenges in a racially inclusive environment;
14and
 
15    WHEREAS, The Montessori concept, developed by Italian
16physician and educator Maria Montessori, is practiced in an
17estimated 30,000 schools worldwide, serving children from
18birth to 18 years of age; it is characterized by an emphasis on
19independence, freedom within limits, and respect for a child's
20natural psychological development; and
 
21    WHEREAS, The Ancona School flourished after its founding in
22late 1962 and 2 years later, it moved to the former Faulkner

 

 

HR0305- 2 -LRB098 11956 MST 45352 r

1School building at the corner of 48th Street and Dorchester
2Ave.; by the mid-70s, it had grown from a one-room Chicago
3preschool into a comprehensive preschool through 8th grade
4Montessori-inspired program; and
 
5    WHEREAS, To provide for the burgeoning elementary grades,
6The Ancona School built an addition in 1968; adjacent lands
7were purchased in the 1980s and a second addition was built in
81993 to accommodate the growing middle school; renovations to
9the Faulkner Building in 2001 brought the campus to its current
10configuration; and
 
11    WHEREAS, In 2006, Chicago Magazine named Ancona as one of
12the 25 best private elementary schools in the Chicago
13metropolitan area; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Today, the Ancona School has exceptional academic
15programs, unique museum partnerships, innovative teaching
16initiatives, and national recognition as an effective
17non-profit from the Brookings Institute; therefore, be it
 
18    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
19NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
20we recognize The Ancona School's 50th anniversary and wish the
21administrators, faculty, and staff many more years of success;
22and be it further
 

 

 

HR0305- 3 -LRB098 11956 MST 45352 r

1    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
2presented to The Ancona School as an expression of our esteem
3and respect.