Fra Noi Embrace Your Inner Italian
Like many successful educators, DuPage High School District 88 Superintendent Jean Barbanente was inspired to embark on the profession by a wonderful teacher.
Her Italian teacher at Maine South High School in suburban Chicago’s Park Ridge, Stella Martorana Weber, made Italian language, history and culture come alive for her students, Barbanente recalls.
“She engaged us in a way I had never experienced before,” she recalls. “She truly cared about each and every one of us. She motivated me not only to continue to study Italian, but to add additional languages to my studies, and to consider education as a professional pursuit. I took her advice and learned Spanish, and later Portuguese.”
Barbanente grew up on the southeast side of Park Ridge, on a block full of Italian families who had migrated from the Chicago/Elmwood Park area.
Her paternal grandfather emigrated from Triggiano, in the province of Bari in Puglia, and her paternal grandmother from Trivigno, in the providence of Potenza in Basilicata. Her maternal grandparents were from Sicily.
“My family came to Chicago during a time when there was a great deal of discrimination against Italians. Therefore, they made great efforts to assimilate,” she says.
They learned English quickly and changed their names to sound more American. Barbanente, in fact, is named Jean after her maternal grandmother, whose real name is Giacoma.
Her family, however, maintained its Italian culture through food and traditions, as well as attending a Pentecostal church with services in Italian. The church was started in the early 20th century by a group of Italians who left the Catholic Church and formed the Christian congregation, she explains.
As Barbanente grew older, she developed the desire to delve into her heritage and learn the language and culture. “I traveled to Italy for the first time with my parents in 1990 and it truly changed my life,” she says. “I developed a close relationship with my cousins in Triggiano Italy, and I have had the opportunity to visit them often and be able to maintain this link to our Italian family on behalf of my whole family in Chicago. “
After graduating high school, Barbanente spent two years at the University of Iowa and studied abroad in Italy and Spain. She completed her undergraduate degree at Dominican University in River Forest, majoring in Italian and Spanish with a concentration in secondary education.
She also earned a master’s degree in English as a Second Language and Bilingual Education and Curriculum and Instruction from National Louis University.
Over the years, she completed a school counseling license and general administrative license at Concordia University Chicago, and a superintendent license and doctorate degree at Aurora University.
Barbanente was first hired by DuPage High School District 88 in 1995 as an Italian and Spanish teacher. Over the years, she was promoted to director of guidance, then director of learning services and finally assistant superintendent.
“I have been very blessed to work in District 88 for my entire career and to have been afforded many opportunities to grow that I could have never imagined. My progression through the roles I have had in the district have been directly related to our work to expand curricular offerings, and student and parent programming throughout the district.”
Barbanente was appointed acting superintendent after the previous superintendent passed away in December 2020 due to complications from COVID-19. She was named superintendent in July 2021.
“While I came into the role through very traumatic circumstances, I am reminded each and every day of the weight of the responsibility I have to ensure the best possible programming and services for our students. I am blessed to have a wonderful Board of Education, with members who are collaborative and wholly focused on what is good for students. I have tremendously supportive communities, an infinitely talented administrative team and a dedicated staff. I can honestly say that while the superintendency is very stressful, I enjoy each and every minute of the job, and don’t take the opportunity to make a difference for granted.”
Leading the district during the pandemic was a time of unimaginable stress, Barbanente recalls.
“We struggled to keep our schools open, as we battled very high positivity rates in our community. We had parents and students who were struggling to survive day to day and, all the while, I was grieving the loss of my best friend and mentor. As I reflect on this time, however, I remember vividly how my colleagues and our community partners, specifically the village of Addison, wrapped around us and helped us navigate through that difficult period. We were blessed to jointly host one of the first COVID-19 vaccine clinics in the area at Addison Trail High School, in partnership with the village of Addison. It was a huge victory for our community, as we worked together to help lift our families out of that crisis.”
Barbanente serves on the Illinois Advisory Council for Bilingual Education; co-facilitates the DuPage County Equity and Excellence Committee and is a member of the village of Addison Sister Cities program with Triggiano, Italy. Addison Trail hosts students from Italy, and in turn Addison Trail students travel to Italy.
“It has been incredible to participate in the Addison/Triggiano Sister Cities exchange program. I have helped to coordinate this over the years and had the privilege to represent Addison Trail High School and the village of Addison both in the hosting of our Italian students, school staff, and village officials and also in the organization of the trips for the Addison students to go to Triggiano,” she says. “The personal tie of this project to my family’s heritage was an added blessing.”
Barbanente is also a member and past president of the Rotary Club of Villa Park, and a member of the Oakbrook Terrace Lions Club, Addison Intergovernmental, president of the School Association for Special Education in DuPage County Board of Directors, and membership chair of the DuPage Region of the Illinois Association of School Administrators.
She is heavily involved in her church, serving as translator, musician and Bible teacher for young children, and participating in the coordination of mission trips.
Barbanente’s plan is to retire in 2028 and spend more time with her husband, Anthony, and also with her grown children, who live in the Boston and Washington, D.C., areas. “I also plan to travel, serve in church ministry, and be present and provide support for my family and in-laws, who still live in the Chicago area.”
