The District 225 Board of Education approved Christine M. Anderson, the new English Language Learners (ELL) Instructional Supervisor, and the appointment of Arcely Canchola as the new Assistant Principal for Student Services at South, according to the District 225 website.

Anderson’s position is a new position that will be introduced during the 2023-24 school year due to the growing population of English Language Learners, Principal Dr. Georges explained. 

Anderson was an instructional technology coach for language faculty at University of Illinois at Chicago. Similar to Anderson, Canchola also comes to South with experience. She has a background as a social worker and a dean at Evanston High School, Georges said. The role of the assistant principal is to oversee the after school and student related activities, Georges said. 

“Throughout the interview process, Ms. Canchola shared her tremendous passion for student well-being and vast experience in supporting a diverse student body,” Georges said. “I am grateful she is joining the leadership team at GBS and look forward to seeing how her experience positively impacts [South’s] community.”

The new leadership position within the department is to provide flexibility to support the Student Services Department if the Assistant Principal of Student Services happens to have other responsibilities, Georges explained. 

“Our students and Student Services Department need more support,” Georges said. “We have added the position of Assistant Principal of Student Services to build a team to meet the needs [for our students]. There will [also] be a lot more help [for English language learners].”

It is a common occurrence in the U.S. for transfer students to find new schools, Georges said. Sadly, the ELL program has historically been lacking in staffing numbers to teach new incoming pupils, Georges explained.

“There were two teachers who [had  run]the [ELL] program at South,” Georges said. “[However, the department] grew too big, and [we began to] need administrative oversight.”

The two new staffers will be collaborating with South’s administrative team, Georges said. She expressed her profound gratitude to work alongside former and incoming South staff members.

“I am proud of the work that our educators have been doing and continue to do in support of our [school],” Georges said. “We are fortunate to have [both new members] join our team at a time when [the school is] expanding our efforts to ensure that all students have access to quality education [at] the Glenbrooks.”