Greetings South Loop Families,
It is with great honor and excitement that I re-join the incredible SLES community as an assistant principal. I bring with me over thirty years of educational experience, spanning grades PreK-8th with specific concentrations in literacy, teacher leader development and community school programming focused on engaging and inspiring the whole child.
During my first tenure at South Loop, I served in the roles of primary teacher, gifted coordinator and finally AP. In 2010, our family made the move to the mile high city of Denver! There I served as an assistant principal, principal and executive director of extended learning for Denver Public Schools. When my husband and I became empty nesters, we knew it was time to return home to Chicago. We will always hold a special connection to both cities, especially with our daughter living here and our son forever more a Colorado kid.
For the past two years, I have had the great honor of supporting a former SLES colleague as she embarked on her own journey into school leadership, serving as the AP to Principal Carmen Jenkins. I am thrilled now to return to the place that has forever held a place in my heart and been instrumental in developing me into the leader I am today – my home, South Loop School. And while I know some of the history, I am also keenly aware of the incredible growth and innovation South Loop has made in the time that I have been gone. I look forward to serving alongside Principal Shelton once again, along with AP Anders and the entire South Loop staff to continue to provide a world class learning experience for our children.
I know there will be many opportunities to meet as we near the kick-off on the 23-24 school year. I look forward to meeting all the wonderful families that support our amazing South Loop students!
Proud to be a Lion once again!
Mary Varveris