It is estimated that more than 300,000 students in the south suburbs were directly impacted by the drive of Jean Bernstein, who believed that education, both in the classroom and in the arts, had a power and lasting influence on young lives.
Bernstein was the former superintendent of schools for Park Forest Chicago Heights School District 163 and one of the founding members of the board of directors for the Center for Performing Arts at Governors State University in University Park. She was the force behind the center’s arts in education program. Each year, 20,000 area students experience a children’s theater performance, and for many it is their first experience with a live play or concert.
“She made it her life’s commitment to expose children to the arts,” GSU President Elaine P. Maimon said. “She was instrumental in our developing curriculum materials that the school could use in connection with the various children’s presentations. Jean was the godmother of the whole program. This is really Jean’s legacy. It couldn’t be more important to children’s lives to have that exposure to the arts.”
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Through the years, Bernstein remained active with the program and often would find financial resources for schools that lacked the funds to pay for students to be at the performances.
“She was incredible and very passionate about arts and arts in education,” said Lana Rogachevskaya, executive director of the Center for Performing Arts. “She would also help identify the schools that were most in need and through the Medhurst Children’s Fund she would help distribute the tickets.”
Bernstein, 90, of Park Forest, died Saturday in Ingalls Hospice Center at Ingalls Hospital in Harvey after an illness.
As an educator and administrator, Bernstein understood and believed in the full scope of a curriculum that reached into every subject matter.
“Whether it was social studies, science or math, English and language arts, she understood all of the areas of the curriculum and their components and how to integrate the disciplines,” District 163 Supt. Joyce Carmine said. “Jean was a brilliant educator.
“Her wisdom and her knowledge just were profound. She was always very progressive and knew what the changes would be before they occurred.”
Born in Lansing, Mich., Bernstein moved to Freeport, Ill., with her family when she was a young girl. She attended the University of Iowa and studied economics. During one summer working a job in Chicago, she met her future husband, George, who was assigned to the Argonne National Laboratory, which was located at the University of Chicago at the time. The couple married in April 1947, and Bernstein received a bachelor of science degree in economics in June of that year.
The couple lived briefly in Chicago before settling in Park Forest. In the late 1950s, the area had a teacher shortage, and Bernstein worked part-time as a kindergarten teacher but left to raise her family. She returned to the classroom in 1960 as a half-time kindergarten teacher. In 1962 she completed her master’s in economics at the University of Chicago.
“I don’t think my mother wanted to work for a profit-making organization,” her son Mark said. “I think her political social views were such that she wanted to take on a public service and she felt that this was worth doing.”
From being a kindergarten teacher, Bernstein moved to become the coordinator for the gifted program in the district. In 1969, she was named the district’s desegregation officer.
“We had one school that was African-American and 10 others that were white. And she took over that job to integrate the schools,” said her friend and colleague, Marilynn Tannebaum, who considered Bernstein her mentor.
“She was the most brilliant woman I ever met,” Tannebaum said. “She was so quick. She could look at a problem, analyze it and solve it very quickly and help you solve it. She was masterful.”
In 1981, Bernstein was named the assistant superintendent of curriculum and planning and was promoted to superintendent the following year. She served until 1984 when she retired. Yet she came out of retirement three times to serve as interim superintendent in 1994, 1996 and again in 2002.
“Even up until the end she was still working as a consultant,” said her daughter, Julie. “She was in the hospital in August and she was dictating to me a curriculum. She was always thinking and she taught with a passion and made sure that all children got a quality education.”
Her son, David, died in 1972, and shortly thereafter Bernstein founded “David’s Club,” which distributes free books to kindergartners. Her husband died in 2001.
Other survivors include another son, Peter, and three grandchildren.
No services are planned.
Pat Trebe is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.