The District 219 Board of Education has appointed Corrie Wallace (left) to fill the new position of Director of Equity and to assume the duties as Director of English Language Learners (LL).

The new Director of Equity position is designed to ensure that all students in D219 receive a quality education regardless of their race or socio-economic status.

“We are thrilled to bring Corrie Wallace to D219 as the Director of Equity and ELL,” Superintendent Nanciann Gatta said in a press release. “She also has a proven record as an equity leader. She believes that all students are capable of strong academic achievement, and that it is our job to help every student succeed.”

Wallace served the District as Director of the ELL Parent Center since it opened in 2008. The center opened in response to the increasing diversity within the community and especially aims to help families that are just arriving in the United States. Under Wallace’s direction, the ELL Parent Center has helped over 700 parents arriving from nations around the world and speaking a variety of languages.

“Corrie has unique knowledge of the needs of families who are new to our country and culture,” Gatta said. “She understands that our public schools exist for the benefit of everyone who lives in our community.”

Prior to her work at the ELL Parent Center, Wallace taught Spanish at Evanston Township High School from 1994-2000 and served as a co-chair on the School Improvement Team, a committee which focuses on minority student achievement. Wallace, who is bilingual in English and Spanish, has also taught in Asia. Her family relocated for her husband’s job so she taught English at a local school in Tokyo and Spanish at an international school in Singapore. Wallace worked to develop programs for Spanish-speaking students and families in the Highwood-Highland Park community when she returned to the States in 2007.