Janet Jean Marie Parmalee Nolan, who cofounded the first dual language public school in Chicago, has died. She was 92.
Mrs. Nolan, alongside her best friend and “hermanita” Adela Coronado-Greeley, had a dream to raise their children to be proud of their cultural backgrounds.
Mrs. Nolan, who was Irish American, and Coronado-Greeley, who was Mexican American, wanted to create a space for children who didn’t speak English to feel safe speaking their native language at school while learning another.
The idea for Inter-American Magnet School was born.
“Janet said something very beautiful,” said Coronado-Greeley, 90. “She said that this way the children would become friends in helping each other and knowing each other’s cultures, and this would spread to the parents and from the parents to the entire city of Chicago.”
In 1975, their dream became a reality when they opened the doors to the first bilingual preschool, where Spanish-speaking children could prepare for kindergarten.
The preschool opened in the old Bartelme School in Rogers Park, where Mrs. Nolan was one of two teachers.
“A lot of dual language schools now are for English speakers but that’s not what she wanted for Inter-American,” Mrs. Nolan’s daughter, Elena Lashmet, said. “The school was for children who needed a voice, and she wanted to help bridge that gap.”
After the first year, the Board of Education considered dropping the program but the Parent Advisory Council, which was headed by Coronado-Greeley, persuaded them to add a kindergarten class instead.
From then on, a new grade was added each year. Now almost 50 years later, the school has pre-K through eighth grade classes, and is housed at the former John V Le Moyne Public School building in Lake View.
Mrs. Nolan’s two daughters, Lashmet and Cristina Nolan, and several of her grandchildren also attended the school. Mrs. Nolan would often take her grandchildren to theater plays and give them Spanish lessons.
“She believed in us, she accepted us, and she encouraged independence in us,” said Lashmet. “My mom led by example, not by lecture. She embodied the idea of a lifelong learner.”
Mrs. Nolan was born in Chicago May 9, 1932, and was raised in northwest suburban Palatine.
Though growing up she was determined to become a naturalist, she wished for a career that would allow her to help others and became a nun.
“She would say she would’ve joined the Peace Corps if it had existed then,” said Lashmet.
She attended the former Mundelein College before leaving to join the Maryknoll Sisters.
During her 16 years as a nun, Mrs. Nolan taught in the Bronx, New York, learned Spanish in Vieques, Puerto Rico and lived in Guatemala. She also lived in Yucatán, Mexico, for six years.
In 1966, Mrs. Nolan was recruited by the University of Notre Dame to work and live as undercover nun and researcher in Chicago’s Puerto Rican community. In her time there she witnessed the Division Street Rebellion and helped provide eyewitness testimony that eventually led to the dismantling of Chicago’s Red Squad, a police intelligence unit that monitored political and social groups.
Over 3,500 pages of her research is now housed at DePaul University.
Mrs. Nolan later left religious life, married James Nolan and had two daughters. Her husband died in 1986.
After a few years at Inter-American Magnet School, Mrs. Nolan left teaching and went on to work for Chicago’s Board of Education until deciding to “retire” as a professor at Northeastern Illinois University.
“She never actually really retired,” Lashmet said. “She was always onto the next thing.”
In 1988, Mrs. Nolan received a master’s degree from Loyola University Chicago.
Mrs. Nolan helped establish Multilingual Chicago, an initiative launched to embrace the 100-plus languages spoken in the city, in 2005. Two years later, the Chicago City Council passed the “Multilingual Chicago Resolution,” recognizing Chicago as multilingual city.
“She was a very brilliant woman,” said Coronado-Greeley. “She had a passion for social justice and the uniting of our communities.”
Despite all of her accomplishments, Mrs. Nolan never sought out to be rewarded, said Lashmet.
“She was a person who never looked for accolades,” said Lashmet. “She never looked for praise. She did things because it was the right thing.”
Despite often being busy with work, Lashmet said her mother was always supportive of her and her sister’s dreams and encouraged them to pursue them.
“No matter how crazy our dreams were, she never said no. Instead she’d say, ‘OK, let’s find a way,’ ” said Lashmet. “She didn’t back down from challenges and never backed down from systems of oppression.”
Well into her 80s, Mrs. Nolan often marched alongside Chicago Public Schools teachers and could be seen passing out anti-war fliers outside the CTA Brown Line Kimball station.
“She would never get discouraged,” said Lashmet. “Even to the very end, she was fighting.”
Mrs. Nolan “slipped away very peacefully” Oct. 28. She is survived by her daughters and 12 grandchildren.
Visitation will be held 3-8 p.m. Friday at Smith-Corcoran Funeral Home, 6150 N. Cicero Ave. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Nov. 4 at St. Benedict Catholic Church, 2215 W. Irving Park Rd.
In lieu of flowers, Mrs. Nolan’s family is asking visitors to vote in the 2024 presidential election and send donations to CREER Comunidad y Familia.