Tracy Aiden began teaching Kindergarten at Baker in the 2010-2011 school year after having taught Pre-Kindergarten for five years.  Previous to Baker, Tracy taught at the School for Little Children in Evanston for four years.  Before entering into teaching, Tracy worked in several different capacities as a crisis worker, peer mediation center developer and coordinator, conflict resolution trainer and family therapist.  Tracy received her Bachelor of Science degree from Western Illinois University, majoring in Law Enforcement and Sociology.  Tracy’s strong belief in community is evident both inside and outside of Baker, where she strives to be active in the community.  She has been a member The Actors Gymnasium Board since 2007, where she acts as the Board Secretary, chairs the Education Committee, and is a member of the HR Committee. She has served as the Dawes PTA President, the Chute Middle School ESCCA chair and has co-chaired the Chute annual benefit.

Sara Angres joined Baker in 1998 as an associate teacher, then she spent time teaching in the inner city at a Chicago Public School Charter School.  She returned to Baker as part of the Early Childhood Team in 2001 and taught both pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classes, until leaving in 2007 to stay home with her son.  She returned again to Baker in 2010, and is thrilled to be back at Baker as both a teacher and a parent.

Elizabeth Barlock has been a part of Baker since 2003. While enrolled in the M.Ed Early Childhood program at National Louis University, Liz worked in one of the pre-kindergarten classrooms as an early childhood associate teacher. While learning philosophy and foundations of early education in her NLU classes and working daily in a play-based classroom, she fell in love with teaching younger children. Since 2007, Liz has taught kindergarten at Baker. She believes that building community and creating an environment that is engaging is key to learning. Liz has been the Early Childhood Team Leader for the past two years.

Thomas Beck has been a member of the Baker faculty since 1985, teaching physical education to grades 1-8 and coaching a variety of sports including soccer, basketball, softball, football, track, tennis, and swimming. Additionally, his involvement in the Arts curriculum is integral for Baker students in the areas of performance and technical support. Before teaching at Baker, Thomas worked as a professional dancer, led courses for teenagers in leadership and outdoor education, performed vocally, and acted on stage. Thomas has a life-long interest in learning and exploring the world, especially using a progressive education model with people of all ages. He has taught university methods classes in health, recreation, and physical education and has presented at conferences and schools regarding the importance of physical fitness in everyday life. Thomas is also the father of two Baker alumni and a current Baker middle school student.

Jon Bingaman joined Baker Demonstration School in 2010 as the Middle School English teacher.  Before his time at Baker, he taught both Middle School Language Arts and Social Studies for three years at Horace Greeley Elementary in Chicago.  While at Greeley, Jon led the after-school media club, coached boys basketball, created and coordinated the after-school sports club, and was an advisor to 8th grade students. He worked for several years in advertising after finishing his Bachelor of Arts in Communications (Journalism) at Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia. Jon decided to pursue a career in education and undertook a Masters in Instructional Leadership at University of Illinois, Chicago. He has an Illinois Teaching Certificate with Middle School endorsements in Language Arts and Social Studies.

Stacy Buehler began working with young children sixteen years ago as a Wiggleworms instructor at The Old Town School of Folk Music.  This inspired her to get her master's degree from the Erikson Institute in child development.  Soon after she began working in the Chicago Public Schools as both a first-grade and pre-kindergarten teacher.  Stacy joined the Baker early childhood team in 2005.  Her third-grader also attends Baker.  Stacy has never stopped making music for young children.  Her credits include two of her own children's music CD's, Stacymusic and Over in the Meadow.  She has also been collaborating with the Disney Publishing Worldwide for the past three years as a songwriter/recording artist creating music for the Disney English Program.

Megan R. Cawley obtained her Master of Arts in Teaching in secondary education from National-Louis University.  She has Middle School Endorsements for both Social Studies and Language Arts.  Ms. Cawley received her Bachelor of Arts from Northwestern University and her Juris Doctor from the DePaul University School of Law.  Before coming to Baker, Ms. Cawley taught Language Arts, Social Studies and Science in the Winnetka Public Schools.  Ms. Cawley’s prior professional background as a lawyer, as well as her experience as a mother has enabled her to establish clear expectations for the academic and social/emotional growth of her students.  She provides challenging activities and builds the type of support system that allows for all students to be successful, and in addition maintains a dialogue with families in order to foster the concept of shared responsibility between home and school.

Becky Crawford began her career at Baker as an Associate Teacher in second and third grade classrooms, while earning her MAT in Elementary Education at National Louis University.  She continued as the Technology Associate in 2010 while working toward her Certificate of Advanced Study in Technology in Education at NLU.  Becky is passionate about integrating technology at Baker and empowering students to be confident, creative digital citizens.  Becky also holds a MS Ed in Outdoor Education from Northern Illinois University.

Lee Del Priore
Social Worker
Joined Baker in 2012
ldelpriore@bakerdemschool.org
B.S., Northern Illinois University
M.A., University of Chicago

Lee Del Priore graduated from Northern Illinois University with a B.S. in education and holds a Type 10 certification as a Learning Behavior Specialist. She completed her graduate education in social work and an additional 30 post-graduate hours in psychology at the University of Chicago. Early in her career, Lee taught reading, math, and social skills at Harper Elementary in Wilmette. As a social worker, Lee facilitated groups and individual therapy with youth and adolescents at Doernbech Hospital, Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU), and Lurie Children's Hospital (formerly Children's Memorial Hospital). Lee has experience in supporting youth and adolescents with anxiety, depression, cancer, diabetes, AD/HD, behavioral challenges, social skills, divorce, and trauma.

Betty Duffy
First Grade Teacher
Joined Baker in 2012
bduffy@bakerdemschool.org
B.S., Loyola University
M.A Ed., Governor’s State University

Betty Duffy received a B.S. from Loyola University and a master’s degree in education from Governor’s State University.  Her initial years as a teacher were spent working for the Archdiocese of Chicago in various locations teaching first and second grade.  Betty joined the faculty of Sacred Heart School in Winnetka as a Middle School teacher in 1984. Following a six-year tenure, she accepted a position for the Highland Park Public Schools and taught first grade there for nearly 20 years.  Most recently, she taught kindergarten in Bannockburn School. She is a self-directed, enthusiastic educator with a passionate commitment to student development and the learning experience.

Prior to joining the Baker community five years ago, Patrick Dunafin taught in the Chicago Public Schools.  When completing his teaching program at Michigan State University, Patrick won the Janet A. Wessel Award for Adapted Physical Education and served as a teaching assistant in the same area.  Other work in and around the Lansing, Michigan area included coaching swimming for the Special Olympics, coaching varsity/junior varsity tennis and volleyball at various high schools, and instructing private and group tennis lessons at Court One Athletic Clubs.  While at Baker, Patrick has coached Team in the Middle flag football and basketball as well as middle school basketball and soccer.  Other roles include lead advisor for student council and private swim instructor.  Patrick is a current member of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) and National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE).

Karrie Fisher
Librarian
Joined Baker in 2008
kfisher@bakerdemschool.org
B.A., Northern Illinois University
M.L.S., Rutgers University
M.A.T., National Louis University

Karrie Fisher has been the librarian at Baker Demonstration School since 2008.  Before coming to Baker she was the librarian at Roycemore School for eight years.  Karrie began her career as a reference librarian at Glenview Public Library, where she is still employed as a substitute librarian.  Karrie's interest in working with children of all ages began when she became the Young Adult Librarian at Glenview Library.  She has served on the following committees:  Abraham Lincoln High School Illinois Book Award (2004-2008), 100 Best of the Best Books for Young Adults for the American Library Association (2004), and North Suburban Library System Director’s Advisory Council (2004-2008).  Karrie was proud to accept the School Librarian of the Year Award from North Suburban Library System in 2004.

Judy Gould has taught in a variety of settings during her extensive teaching career.  For the past 28 years she served as a middle school student services teacher at the Joseph Sears School in Kenilworth, Illinois.  During that time, Judy was an active member of the school team as she worked on development in the Special Education Department including the design of programming, implementation of strategic skill curriculum, and development of progress monitoring and educational plans. At Sears, Judy was instrumental in developing the advisory program where she lovingly served as an advisor for 28 years.  Before joining Sears, Judy was a general education teacher in Evanston District 65 and Solomon Schechter Day School in Skokie. In recent years, her professional development experiences have included in-depth studies of various approaches utilizing direct and systematic instruction in literacy.

Mike Gnutek has been a Visual Arts Instructor in the Midwest since graduate school.  He laid the groundwork for his educational experience working as a Web Designer for RollingStone.com and an Associate Art Director of Children’s books for Publications International, Ltd.  Mike’s commitment to learning has afforded him many titles at Baker including: Soccer Coach, Student Council Advisor, Ceramics Club Instructor, All School Team Leader, Integrated Arts Faculty Liason, and Set Design Coordinator.  His interest in visual literacy led to an original lesson being published in Literacy Development for the Storytelling Classroom.  A member of ASCD, NAEA, and IAEA, Mike has also received the honor of Magna Cum Laude.  When not teaching at Baker, Mike leads studio art courses in the Center for Gifted Summer Program.

Jamee Guerra has taught music on the east coast, the British Virgin Islands, and Chicago’s south side. She has designed and implemented two brand new music curriculums in previous schools, and is always open to trying new ideas in the music classroom. While teaching at a girl’s high school in New Jersey, she collaborated with a co-worker to write and compose music for a full length musical. Her first instrument is piano, but loves playing drums and teaching percussion and vocal ensembles.  She is currently working on a Master’s degree in music education in Northwestern University’s 4-summer master’s program. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in music education.  Jamee believes that every student has musical intelligence, which is multifaceted, and she seeks to help all students develop their musical abilities in ways that are meaningful and relevant to them.  Jamee is excited to be joining the Baker Demonstration School family.

Mary Pat Hepp is an impassioned educator who recently returned to her hometown of Chicago.  She has a B.S. in Biology and an M.S. in Special Education, both awarded by Illinois State University.  Mary Pat took many additional graduate courses in the Educational Psychology Department of the University of Iowa and the Neurosciences Department of the Teachers College of Columbia University in New York, focusing on learning and brain research.  That work led to an invitation to join the Salk Institute Secondary Education Alliance in La Jolla, California; a collaboration of institute researchers and San Diego educators.  The workshop they developed, “Eavesdropping on the Brain,” was presented locally and at the California Science Educators Association annual convention.  Mary Pat has been an instructor in public, independent, and alternative schools in Illinois, Iowa, New York, California, and Colorado.  She also served as science department chair at two schools, and as middle school director in three schools.  While she has taught almost every subject to students in kindergarten through college, she has a particular affinity toward middle school students and the sciences.  Mary Pat is excited about the spectacular new lab space and becoming part of Baker’s community and traditions.

Kim Johns has been an early childhood educator since her sophomore year at Colorado State University, where she became a lead teacher in their campus-based early childhood program.  Kim also taught preschool at the Auraria Metro campus in Denver before moving to the Chicago area. She taught toddlers and two-year olds at Baby Toddler Nursery in Evanston, during which time she earned the Evanston Teacher of the Year award. Kim has been an active member of the Chicago Association for the Education of Young Children and their Anti-Bias Commission, presenting at professional conferences on topics including toddler curricula, anti-bias curricula, and early literacy.  Kim has had experience in both kindergarten and first-grade classrooms, and has taught pre-kindergarten at Truman College.

Lisa Kampwirth began her teaching career as an associate in a bilingual classroom in college, where she immediately became hooked on education.  She received an undergraduate degree in Theater and has enjoyed many hours performing plays and puppet shows with children.  After teaching for three years in Spain, she went to the Erikson Institute where she received her masters degree in early childhood education, with a specialty in teaching.  In addition to teaching at Baker, she also gives in-service seminars to other teachers about “Multiple Forms of Intelligence,” “Drama in the Early Childhood Classroom,” and “Fun Ways to Make Your Classroom Greener.”  She is a member of the Winnetka Alliance for Early Childhood.

Jackie Haug has been in the field of education for ten years.  She started her teaching career in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam where she taught English to three, four, and five year old children.  Jackie has worked at Baker Demonstration School for the past six years teaching fourth and fifth grade.  During that time she has presented at various conferences, participated in writing new curricula, and collaborated on numerous committees as well as published an article in the book The Storytelling Classroom titled “Beyond the Five Paragraph Essay.”  In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Jackie has held the position of Assistant Head of School and Instructional Coordinator and has had the opportunity to hold the faculty elected positions of Team Leader and Faculty Chair.

Alex Haines joins Baker from Philadelphia, PA, where he received his MS Ed. in Secondary Mathematics from the University of Pennsylvania.  While enrolled at Penn, Alex spent one year teaching 7th grade mathematics at Julia deBurgos Elementary School in Philadelphia. While pursuing his Master’s, Alex worked as a part-time GMAT instructor for Veritas Prep. Alex attended Brown University, where he earned his BA in Economics. He also spent two years working as a teaching assistant for the Introductory Economics course at Brown. Upon graduation, he worked at MyCIO Wealth Management as a financial analyst before turning to a career in education.

Tyler Leach
Latin Teacher
Joined Baker in 2010
tleach@bakerdemschool.org
B.A., Hamilton College

Tyler joined the Baker community in 2010 after eight years at The Williams School in New London, Connecticut. In his time at Williams he taught Latin, Ancient World History, World Geography, and Classical Heroism, acted as an advisor to Middle and Upper school students, coached soccer, basketball, and golf, and served as Dean of Students for the Middle and Upper School and as Head of the Middle School.  Tyler received his Bachelor of Arts in Classical Languages with Honors in 2002 from Hamilton College, where he received the Hawley prizes for Latin and Greek, the Arthur W. Soper prize for Latin, and was elected to the Iota Nu chapter of Phi Sigma Iota for excellence in foreign languages.

Jennifer Levy comes to Baker with eleven years’ experience teaching kindergarten, first, and second grade classes at Middlefork School in Northfield and Francis Parker in Chicago.  She took three years out of the classroom to begin her doctoral studies in teacher education at Michigan State University, but missed the children too much and now finds Baker the perfect place to pursue all her educational interests. Jennifer is especially passionate about differentiation.  She received a Fulbright Scholarship to New Zealand, where she studied ways to best meet childrens’ varied needs within a classroom.  She also earned a Certification to teach Young Children with Special Needs.  Jennifer has presented at many organizational conferences including the American Education Research Association, the Progressive Education Conference, and the Illinois Reading Council.

Melissa Makagon has been teaching children from preschool age through second grade since 1996.  During that time she has had the privilege of leading teachers on literacy, conducting parent literacy and math nights, and mentoring many student teachers in the classroom. She has been a first grade teacher at Baker Demonstration School for the past five years. Melissa comes to Baker with a strong background in constructivist teaching and strives to continue her professional growth in progressive education.

Kate McCarthy began her career in education as an associate teacher in the Winnetka Public Schools and as an intern at Baker.  She then taught at a charter school in Chicago before returning to Baker as a lead teacher.  Kate’s varying experiences in different schools led to her interest in creating dynamic curricula designed to meet students’ individual needs, strengths and interests.  To help her students develop broad perspectives and embrace diverse backgrounds, cultures, and beliefs, for the past three years she has worked with the Do Your P’Art Foundation, which brings together students from the city and suburbs through art collaborations. She is currently pursuing her Master’s Degree of Education in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration on English Language Learners.

Sarah Milo joined the Baker community as a fourth grade teacher. Though new to Baker and the Chicago area, Sarah is happy to return to the progressive roots that were at the heart of her own education. She comes to Chicago from the California Bay Area where she taught fourth grade at East Palo Alto Charter School. Prior to that, Sarah spent two years in Chile teaching fifth grade at Santiago College, an International Baccalaureate school, while exploring the country and learning Spanish. Sarah began her teaching career in early childhood in Seattle, Washington. She earned a Master in Teaching degree from Seattle University and received her undergraduate degree in American Culture at Vassar College.

Prior to arriving at Baker, Terri Nitahara spent eleven years teaching in both the public and private schools in Chicago and Evanston.  Her professional experience includes time spent as an education classroom teacher, a learning behavior specialist and an educational administration team member.  Terri has worked extensively to support the academic, social, emotional and independent functioning needs of her students.  She created the Community Based Training Program for students with special needs for Illinois District 299, Region 2.  Terri has served for numerous years as a parent volunteer, school board committee member and community representative in Glenview, where she worked to develop and implement the character values education program utilized in schools across the village. Terri is an avid supporter of progressive education and is an active member in the Council for Exceptional Children.

Dana O’Brien began her teaching career at a small Catholic school on the south side of Chicago. Since then, she has taught kindergarten at the Latin School of Chicago, third grade at the John Thomas Dye School, and third grade again at the Willows Community School, both of the latter in Los Angeles.  Dana and her family have returned to Chicago and she feels very lucky to have found Baker.  For the past two years, Dana has collaborated with her husband, Edmund, and Diana Kodner Gokce on two original musicals for the school – a civil war musical and a Greek mythology musical.  Dana is most proud of her two children, both of whom attend Baker.

Carin Peacock has been a teacher in progressive schools in Winnetka and Chicago for the last ten years, and in that time has taught Pre-Kindergarten to 3rd grade.  She holds a Master of Arts in Reading and Language instruction and a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education.  In 2009, Carin presented at the Progressive Education Network Conference in Washington D.C. on the use of Froebel Gifts to foster oral and written expression.  She is a passionate teacher who enjoys collaborating and developing inspiring curriculum which impacts children's learning.  Carin's hope for her students is that they will grow up to be life long passionate learners and positive world leaders.  She is excited to be joining the Baker Demonstration School family.

Barb Pietroski joined Baker with many years of teaching experience across all grades.  Her career began at Northbrook Jr. High, where she helped develop the Spanish program for District 28.  Later, she joined the staff at Buffalo Grove High School, where she taught beginning through advanced levels.  During her tenure, she was granted a sabbatical leave to study at the Art Institute to link art to languages.  Most recently, she taught primary grades at Hubbard Woods in Winnetka.  Throughout her career, Barb has been involved in professional organizations including AATSP and ICTFL.  Besides being on the executive council of the Chicago chapter of AATSP, she has made frequent presentations at local, state, and national language conferences on the power of movement, music, poetry, pair practice and games in the language class.

Juli Ross has been a member of the Baker Demonstration School faculty for seventeen years.  In that time she has taught both fourth and fifth grade classes and has served in leadership roles for the school including Curriculum Coordinator, Pre-Service Coordinator, Faculty Chair, and Board Trustee.  Currently, Juli is the Affiliation Coordinator between Baker Demonstration School and Chicago institutions of higher education.  Before coming to Baker, Juli taught at Francis W. Parker School in Chicago.  Juli has a passion for teacher education and works as a site-supervisor for student teachers.  She also serves on the National-Louis University Elementary Education Advisory Board.  Juli received National Board Certification in 2002 and has presented at national educational conferences and contributed to a number of educational publications. 

Carly Schulman graduated from Indiana University with a B.S. in Recreation with an emphasis in Tourism Management, and she holds a Masters in Childhood Education and Special Education from Manhattanville College in New York.  Carly has been teaching special education for the past five years in both the private and public sector, working extensively with children with different learning styles and needs from K-9th Grade. Her expertise in reading stems from being trained in the Orton-Gillingham based Preventing Academic Failure (PAF), a multi-sensory approach to reading.  She also uses many curricula to meet the needs of her students such as Saxon Math, Singapore Math, Great Leaps Reading, PAF, Being A Writing Workshop, Handwriting Without Tears, and Thinking Goes to School.  Carly strives to make learning fun and exciting by encompassing what the individual student finds to be emotionally meaningful and to ensure that each student reaches their full potential.

Merle Scharmann comes to Baker with 36 years of experience in elementary education along the North Shore.  She has had the pleasure of working with children and families in grades pre-kindergarten through fourth.  Throughout all of these years children have been at the center of her professional life.  She has explored emergent reading skill in young children with Elizabeth Sulzby at Northwestern University, arts integration into the classroom through the schools of Reggio Emilia and the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. and has traveled as part of a United States delegation of educators to China for a conference on global learning.  Communicating experience and discoveries has led her to make presentations at the NAEYC National Conference, the ICE Conference, the National Association for the Teaching of Art, and the National Progressive Education Conference.  Publications include articles on memory, arts in the classroom, parent-teacher communication, and arts integration into the early childhood classroom.  Most recently, Merle has written a book entitled Two Decades honoring the twentieth year of the Winnetka Alliance for Early Childhood. Her awards include Who’s Who in American Universities, the CHADD Award, and the Kohl-McCormick Early Childhood Teaching Award.  She is honored to come “home” to Baker where she began her career student-teaching with Betty Weeks.

Kimeri Swanson-Beck has served in a variety of roles in her educational career over the last 25 years. Most recently, she served as a literacy coach for the Winnetka Public Schools and in that district also served as science faciliator and elementary teacher.  At Baker, Kimeri has taught middle school math and science, coached softball and track, and has served on the School Board of Directors, the Baker Parent Organization, and as a Team Leader.  It was as an undergraduate student at the National College of Education that Kimeri was introduced to the philosophy of progressive education and since then she has spent her career experimenting with it at many levels including those of student, teacher, and administrator.  In addition to her work with pre-school through eighth grade students, Kimeri has taught pre-service courses at the National Louis University and has presented at conferences such as those for Progressive Education Network and Democracy in Education. She is also the parent of one current Baker student and two Baker alumni.

Lori Widlicka received a B.A. from the National College of Education in 1974 and an M. Ed. from Erikson Institute at Loyola University in 1989.  Her initial years as an early childhood educator were spent at St.Chrysostom's Day School in Chicago and at the Winnetka Public School Nursery.  In 1982, she joined the Baker Demonstration School faculty as a Junior Kindergarten teacher.  After six years at Baker, she bid a fond farewell and moved on to become the Senior Kindergarten teacher for the Winnetka Public Schools at Crow Island where she remained until her retirement in 2007.  Throughout her teaching life, she has remained passionate in her pursuit of knowledge that best serves the interests of young children, which includes the Reggio Emilia principles, the Descriptive Review Process, and continued dialogue with her colleagues.  In January, 2011, she came out of retirement and returned to Baker in the role of Toddler teacher.

Lizanne Wilson has worked for seventeen years as the Drama Specialist for K-8 students at Baker Demonstration School.  Integrating drama into the core curriculum, co-teaching with classroom teachers and other specialists, and creating innovative middle school productions have helped to make the arts a centerpiece of a Baker education.  She was the keynote speaker and guest presenter on “Drama and Critical Literacy” at UC Fresno for the Cesar Chavez Conference on Multiple Perspectives in the Classroom.  She has given workshops for the International Multi-Cultural Literature Conference “Reading the World”, the National Association of Laboratory Schools, the National Council of Teachers of English, National Council for Social Studies, ISAACS, and the Illinois Theatre Association.  A professional actress, singer, director and master teacher, Lizanne has been part of the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis, the New Tuners Theatre, the Organic Theatre and the Drury Lane Theatre in Chicago.