Constance Clayton facts for kids

Constance "Connie" Elaine Clayton (1933 – September 18, 2023) was an important American educator and community leader. She is best known for being the Superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia from 1982 to 1993.

Constance Clayton made history in Philadelphia. She was the first woman and the first African American person to lead the city's schools. She was known for her strong personality and practical approach. She always spoke up for children and their education. In 1992, a special teaching position, called a professorship, was created in her name at the University of Pennsylvania. This was a big deal because it was the first time an African American woman had a professorship named after her at an Ivy League university.

Early Life and Education

Constance Clayton was born in 1933 in Philadelphia. She was raised by her mother, Willabell Clayton, and her grandmother, Sarah Harris. She often said she felt very lucky growing up. Her mother took her to art museums, which helped her love art for her whole life.

Constance went to Paul Laurence Dunbar Elementary School and the Philadelphia High School for Girls. She looked up to Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander, a famous lawyer and civil rights activist, as one of her mentors.

She studied at Temple University, earning her bachelor's and master's degrees in 1955. She focused on how to run elementary schools. Later, she earned her Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University in 1974. She also got another degree, a Doctor of Education (EdD), from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education in 1981.

Teaching and Early Career

Constance Clayton started her career as a fourth-grade teacher in North Philadelphia from 1955 to 1964. After that, she worked on creating social studies lessons for elementary schools. From 1969 to 1971, she led a new program focused on African and Afro-American Studies for students of all ages.

For a short time, she worked for the United States Department of Labor in Washington, D.C. There, she helped support women's job status and fair pay.

From 1973 to 1983, she was in charge of the Early Childhood Program for the Philadelphia school system. This program was so good that other places in the country looked to it as an example.

Leading Philadelphia Schools

In 1983, Constance Clayton was chosen to be the superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia. She was picked from 83 other people who wanted the job. This made her Philadelphia's first African American woman superintendent. She held this important position for ten years, until 1993. She also became the president-elect of the national Council of Great City Schools.

The Philadelphia school system was the sixth largest in the United States. It had about 24,500 teachers and staff. Constance Clayton faced big challenges, like many students living in poverty and a tight budget.

She set clear goals for the schools. These included making sure the budget was balanced, making the school lessons more consistent, and getting support from private businesses. By the end of her first eight years, the school system had done a great job meeting these goals.

Constance Clayton was a strong voice for children. She believed that "Somebody had better step forward and be the advocate for kids." She pushed for governments to invest in education. She understood the difficulties many children faced and supported programs for them. These included help for homeless students and allowing pregnant students to finish school. She said, "We must educate the kids born into poverty and despair. We must value all kids and not just a select few." She retired in 1993, leaving a lasting impact.

Community Work After Retirement

After retiring, Constance Clayton continued to be active in her community. She served on the boards of many organizations, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art. In 2000, she started the museum's African American Collections Committee. Her work helped create important art exhibits like Treasures of Ancient Nigeria (1982) and Represent: 200 Years of African American Art (2014).

Awards and Honors

Constance Clayton received many awards and honors for her work, including:

• 17 honorary doctorates (special degrees given to honor achievements)
• Rockefeller Foundation fellowship (a special grant for research)
• Gimbel Award
• Rev. Jesse F. Anderson Memorial Award from Widener University
• Distinguished Daughters of Pennsylvania Award
• Humanitarian Service Award from the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations
• Star Community Commitment to Education Award, 2008

The Constance E. Clayton Professorship

In 1992, a special teaching position called the Constance E. Clayton Professorship in Urban Education was created at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. This was supported by several foundations and banks. This professorship was very significant because Constance Clayton was the first African American woman to have such a position named after her at an Ivy League university. The University of Pennsylvania also started The Clayton Lecture Series on Urban Education in her honor.