Hanan Matari

Affiliation

Chicago Public School

Track

Biography

Dr. Hanan Matari is the Assistant Principal of Mariano Azuela Elementary School located in Chicago, Illinois. Her journey to becoming an educator and working in Chicago Public Schools, began over 30 years ago when she was a refugee from Kuwait during the Gulf War. . Despite the challenging start, she has achieved great success in her career, including becoming a bilingual Arabic teacher, teacher mentor and coach, ELL's senior compliance facilitator, and currently serving as an assistant principal at Azuela Elementary School. Dr. Matari's passion for service had led her to pursue her Doctorate in Educational Leadership, in addition to her other degrees. As a result of her dedication to making her school a better place, she has been rewarded with awards, honors, titles, and prestigious certificates. The most notable prized title is her 2021 Award of “Administrator of the Year” which is defined to be an outstanding reward that highlights a servant tasked with nurturing and developing the youth of the great city through the implementation of the Success Bound program. She also has been a pillar in her community as an educator, leader, professional developer, and was recognized as such by being named as the 2023 ambassador for the Arabic language by the National Association of Bilingual Education. With her vibrant character and positive outlook, she is now an inspiration to her students and to the entire Chicago community, as she serves as a join-co chair for the Ambassador Committee.