Irene DaMota

Ms DaMota was Principal at R. Clemente Community Academy from 1997 until 2006. Aside from working at Clemente, Ms DaMota was on the board of Centro Popular, a community organization providing education services to adults in the Humbolt Park area.

Always exploring new educational practices, in 2006, she resigned her post at Clemente to dedicate her time to a school she opened in the town of Macae, near Rio de Janeiro, in Brasil.

Ms DaMota will be remembered for her tireless, creative ways of bringing resources to Clemente. Most noticeably was her successful implementation of the Small School system at Clemente, with the support of the U.S. Department of Education and Dr Hieu's coordination.

Another of Ms DaMota contributions was the introduction of important university resources at Clemente (from Northwestern, DePaul, Northeastern Illinois universities) which created, within the school, an academically challenging environment for hundreds of high-school age students in the Near Northwest Side of Chicago.

Ms DaMota was a lively, curious life-long learner. Many of her staff owed much to her efforts as she helped them reach their professional goals, seeking resources for them. Ms DaMota loved Clemente, the students and staff. She was a visionary and she often used metaphors to bring home the message in her speeches.