Mary Beck

Cahn Fellow 2020

Principal, Nicholas Senn High School

Chicago, Illinois

Mary Beck is a veteran school leader and was proud to serve as the Principal of Nicholas Senn High School. Senn is an extremely culturally, racially and linguistically diverse neighborhood high school distinguished as Chicago’s first wall to wall IB school.

Mary is dedicated to the growth of all members of the learning community, beginning her career as an English teacher, department chairperson, and basketball coach on Chicago’s west side. Here, she established a strong student-centered instructional philosophy and the ability to inspire students of all academic abilities, interests and backgrounds to prepare for college and career success.

At the district level, Mary spent several years training and supporting both elementary and high school teacher teams in postsecondary success through the AVID program development. It was through this experience that she honed her skills to build meaningful and trusting relationships, inspire adult learners, and promote systemic programs to support student success while navigating a variety of funding resources.

Principal Beck led an expansion of the IB Programme at Senn to ensure access and opportunity for all Senn students, while also advancing the audition-based Senn Arts program. As a result, Senn High School saw a significant increase in enrollment, graduation rates, and college enrollment for all students.

In 2021, Mary was promoted to Deputy Chief of Teaching and Learning and in 2022 she was promoted again to Acting Chief of Teaching and Learning.

Jeneen Hatoum

Cahn Ally 2020

Assistant Principal, Nicholas Senn High School

Chicago, Illinois

With over 14 years of experience in education at the school, district and non-profit sectors, Jeneen Hatoum brings a wealth of experience successfully leading instructional and leadership improvements and innovation. Jeneen spent much of her career serving Chicago Public School students in her roles as teacher, instructional coach, district curriculum and instruction lead, and Assistant Principal at Kenwood Academy high school. Through her leadership, school metrics improved, she developed a robust study abroad program, led disciplinary literacy, supported teacher practice and developed effective collaborative team structures.

In Washington D.C., Jeneen served students in grades 6-12 at one of the only urban boarding schools in the nation. During her tenure, she supported an increase in freshmen-on-track to graduate, college graduation, and college scholarship acquisition. In her most recent role as director of programs, Jeneen supported school teams and leaders as they focused on moving from teacher-led to student-driven, personalized instruction.

Jeneen believes that much of a school's success lies in strong teacher efficacy, reflection and high functioning teacher teams (professional learning). Jeneen values the importance of building authentic community, trust, and vulnerability in order to push to the highest standards. She also grounds her work on the “why” to ensure that students and equity remain at the core of all decisions. With her relentless pursuit of excellence, Jeneen is thrilled to join a talented team of teachers and students at Senn High School where there is no option but to be #sennsational!