Nada Abid was born a leader. The oldest of five siblings growing up on Chicago’s Southwest Side and later Burbank, Mrs. Abid was constantly teaching her four brothers English and helping them with their homework.
“I’ve always loved learning and teaching and I constantly set goals and pushed myself to accomplish them,” said Abid, who lives in Palos Hills with her husband Ayman and the couple’s three children. “My husband is my biggest support,” said Abid.
Nada is an Arabic bilingual teacher at Dorn School.
Find out what's happening in Palosfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
She accomplished another goal recently by completing her Ed.S. (doctoral degree) in Educational Leadership from National Louis University in Chicago. The newly-minted “Dr. Abid” said she started her doctoral program three years ago during COVID. (Her dissertation was on Social Emotional Learning and she said she selected the topic after discovering that students were having difficulties expressing their feelings after being cooped up in their homes for two years.
“I have always been passionate about SEL and using it in the classrooms to build positive and trusting relationships with students,” Dr. Abid said. “It cultivates a classroom setting that is welcoming and accepting of all students. I truly believe that every behavior is a form of communication whether students are using it as a means to reflect excitement or frustration.
“No child is bad, but they sometimes make bad choices due to how they feel or struggle with at that given time,” she said.
Find out what's happening in Palosfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Nada said her study was inspired by the reopening of schools after the closure forced by the Covid-19 pandemic. Due to the social distancing and lack of social interaction, she said it was “almost evident that the students would struggle socially and have increased social-emotional deficiencies.”
She said the results from the study support the importance of implementing an SEL program in classrooms to help students thrive socially, behaviorally and academically. “What was surprising was that students could identify how their peers were feeling based on how they were acting. Students enjoyed learning about feelings and how to express themselves. The ability to understand the way they were feeling supported them to self- regulate.”
Dr. Abid thanked District 117 colleagues Erin Denny and Alice Alexander for their assistance in organizing the feeling-check intervention. “Alice’s expertise in creating the PowerPoint presentation and crafting the necessary materials for the study's feeling’s check was invaluable. Erin generously shared her wealth of knowledge on Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), as well as the CASEL materials that have been instrumental in our SEL implementation within the district.
“Both ladies were part of the PBIS committee with me, where we discussed the program's achievements and the implementation steps during our meetings,” Dr. Abid said.
She earned her masters degree in curriculum and instruction with an endorsement in bilingual education from National Louis University and earned her bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Nada, who at age 32 was the youngest in her cohort, said she is so grateful for the 12 members of her group who “were like a second family seeing that we spent so much time together. We exchanged great ideas and had some great discussions.”
She said the people in her cohort were from different school districts “so we were able to see how other school districts operated.” “I saw how well things are run here in District 117.”
Nada said the final two semesters of her program were spent working on her dissertation. When her three-year journey was over, she had 130-typed pages. “During the process, I developed as a researcher and a writer.”
She defended her dissertation on March 28 and had the choice of doing it in-person or online through Google Meet. Nada chose defending online.
Dr. Abid reserved a room at the Green Hills Library where she spent 40 minutes masterfully defending her dissertation followed by another 30 minutes answering questions posed by her department chair, co-chair and a dean’s representative. The three-person panel adjourned for 20 minutes and when they returned there was a video screen that read “Congratulations!”
“It was truly a feeling of elation and pride for completing something that was so important and required so much of my time,” she said. “You go through so many emotions. It’s very surreal.”
Dr. Abid said going through the program required a great balancing act. “I had to balance family, work and outside activities while focusing on my (doctoral) program. It was a lot of hard work and sacrifice but it was well worth it in the end.”
Nada said while she enjoys being in the classroom and teaching children, she knew she wanted to eventually go into school leadership. “I want to help support the teachers so they can support the students. It will also help me support our NDP117 students on a larger scale. I enjoy collaborating with teachers and brainstorming new ways to teach our students effectively” she said. “I’ve always had a passion for collaboration.”
While Nada continues to look forward to working with colleagues to provide excellent educational opportunities for all students, she said she would consider the right administrative opportunity if it presented itself.
“I love it here in District 117. I love the diversity,” she said. “This is a great place to work.”
