Title
Also naming Buttonwood Street between Broad Street and N. 15th Street as "Dr. Constance E. Clayton Way."
Body
WHEREAS, Constance Elaine Clayton was born on October 23, 1933 in Philadelphia, the only child of Willabell Harris Clayton and Levi Clayton. She was raised by her mother and maternal grandmother, Sarah Harris; and
WHEREAS, Surrounded by a loving, tight-knit family that sought to give her a well-rounded education and development, Constance E. Clayton was engaged in the arts, local and national government, and her community. She learned the cello and the piano, was an active member of North Philadelphia's St. Paul's Baptist Church, and was selected to deliver a welcome address on behalf of Eleanor Roosevelt during the First Lady's visit to Philadelphia at the age of eight; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Clayton attended Dunbar Elementary School and graduated from the Philadelphia High School for Girls, from which she would go on to attend Temple University. After receiving her B.A. and M.A. from Temple in 1955 specializing in elementary school administration, she would enter the ranks of teaching at the former William Henry Harrison School in North Philadelphia, where she taught fourth grade classes for nine years; and
WHEREAS, During this time Dr. Clayton played a critical role developing academic curricula for the School District of Philadelphia, leading to her becoming a collaborator in the School District's Social Studies Department. She spent five years designing social studies curricula for elementary grades, then became the Project Director of the School District's African and Afro-American Studies Program in 1969; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Clayton briefly left the School District in 1971 to serve as Regional Director of the U.S. Department of Labor's Women's Bureau, addressing pay inequity and supporting women's employment in the Mid-Atlantic region. She returned to the School District as Director then Associate Superintendent of the School District's Early Ch...
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