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Grace School Faculty and Staff
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For a directory of phone extensions and emails, click here.
Administration
Lyle Mortensen, Interim Principal
After spending my elementary years as a student at Grace School I continued through the Lutheran educational system at Walther and Concordia, River Forest. I received my first call as a junior high teacher to Grace in 1973 and remained in the classroom until I became the technology administrator for church and school in 2002. I am currently serving as Interim Principal of the School, as the Principal Call Committee works through the search process involved in calling a principal for the 2012-13 school year.
Eileen Maggio, School Administrative Assistant
I have been the administrative assistant for Grace School since August, 2003. Previously I worked at St. Luke Parish School in River Forest, where I held the position of library media specialist for thirteen years. My husband, Joe, and I have been members of Grace Church since 1990, and both of our sons are Grace alumni. In my spare time I enjoy sewing and reading mystery novels.
Teachers and Teaching Assistants
Mary Berendt, Third Grade Teacher
I spent many of my childhood years in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where my daughter was born in 1996. After graduating from Elmhurst College and earning my teaching certificate, I taught third and fourth grades for over fifteen years at St. Francis Xavier School in Chicago. While teaching and raising my daughter, I went back to school to obtain my Master’s degree at Benedictine University, in special education. I have been nominated for the Golden Apple Award and the Disney Teacher of the Year Award. I have coached girls’ softball, and now I spend most of my free time watching my daughter pitch for her softball team. When I am not watching her softball games, I enjoy visiting my dad in the Upper Peninsula.
Stephanie Bird, Art Teacher
I have been passionate about the arts since childhood, when I began to draw and paint inspired by the splendor found in nature. I have taught people of all ages, from pre-K to active adults for over 25 years. I believe a classroom should be a safe place for creative inquiry and expression. I encourage students to dig deep within to find their unique artistic voice. Prior to coming to Grace Lutheran, I taught for the pilot program of the Chicago Music and Performing Arts Foundation in the West Loop. For many years I taught college-level painting and drawing at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; I also taught young people in the Continuing Studies Program. I have offered classes and workshops at Chicago Botanic Garden; Garfield Conservatory; Illinois Institute of Art; Grove Craft Center in San Diego; a GTD summer camp in Del Mar, CA; and at the YMCA in Abington PA. I taught mixed media and oil painting in Oak Park through the Park District and have offered a workshop in District 97 to celebrate Martin Luther King’s birthday. I received a BFA with honors from Temple University's Tyler School of Art in painting and drawing and an MFA in visual arts from the University of California San Diego. I won a Fulbright Senior Scholar Award to Australia, to study the Dreamtime paintings of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and spent an entire year there with my young family. My art has been exhibited in numerous galleries, museums and cultural institutions across the country and I have been blessed to win many fellowships, grants and awards to support my art work. One of the most magical journey’s my art has taken was when it was displayed in the U.S. Embassy in Cotonou, Benin, Africa. I also have a mixed media oil painting of an imaginary alphabet letter that you can see in the permanent collection of the Illinois State Gallery at McCormick Place South. When not teaching or painting I write books and articles on herbalism and spend time with my family in Oak Park, enjoying life with our two dogs, cat and two parrots.
Kathy Brooks, Junior Kindergarten
My childhood years were spent in Minnesota where I attended a Lutheran School through 8th grade. After graduation from the University of Illinois with degrees in elementary education and early childhood education, I taught fourth grade in the River Forest public schools. I have spent recent years pursuing my passion for quilting—lecturing, teaching workshops, and writing books and magazine articles. I also enjoy knitting, reading and puppetry. The best times are spent with my husband and three grown children. It is exciting to be a part of the thriving early childhood program at Grace. I am in awe of the wonder of the four-year-olds and feel blessed to have a part in their emerging understanding of the world.
Deirdre Byrne, Special Education
I graduated from the University of Iowa with a B.A. in both education and English with a specialization in writing. I taught language arts and reading in junior high at Divine Providence School in Westchester until I left to have my first child. I took several years off to raise my four children during which time my oldest son was diagnosed with dyslexia and dysgraphia. I dedicated myself to learning as much as I possibly could about these learning conditions as well as strategies and modifications that would help my son. I am currently using my education background and personal experience with learning disabilities assisting Mrs. O’Connor in helping the students at Grace who struggle with learning. I am also coaching the girl’s volleyball team which has already (two weeks into the school year) been a very exciting experience.
Benjamin Chandler, Junior Kindergarten and Art Teacher
(On sabbatical during the 2011-12 school year)
I spend my mornings teaching the junior kindergarten and afternoons teaching visual art to grades 1-8. I also oversee Grace's after-school extended care program. After attending the University of Wisconsin, Madison, I taught elementary art in Milwaukee for three years and then moved to Chicago to complete a master of fine arts degree in interdisciplinary arts, focusing on the book and paper arts. Aside from my work at Grace, I teach at the Maywood Fine Arts Center, and I am an adjunct professor at Concordia University, Chicago. In my spare time, I like to write fiction, draw animals, read the New Yorker, and watch detective programs on television.
Laura Clauss, Sixth Grade Teacher
I am a long-time Grace member and a graduate of Grace Lutheran School. My three children are also graduates of the school. I attended Walther Lutheran High School, where I met my husband, and then attended Concordia College, River Forest, Illinois. My first teaching job was in Chicago at Grace English, where I taught kindergarten, first grade, and second grade. I took time off to have children and then returned to teaching at Concordia’s Early Childhood Center, where I taught for five years. I started the extended day care program at Grace and taught in the gifted program before becoming the sixth-grade teacher in 2003. Sixth grade is a fun year--we share stories about our lives and support each other through interesting times. I am the school’s athletic director and have also served as a confirmation mentor. When I am not at Grace, I enjoy watching sports on television and reading.
Michael D. Costello, Cantor
As the cantor at Grace, my primary job is to lead congregational singing. I do this by playing the organ, directing choirs, serving as an educator, coordinating music with other staff members, and working with others to lead the Bach Cantata Vespers. I direct the 7-8 grade choir at Grace School. I grew up in a Lutheran church in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. I received my bachelor of arts in sacred music from Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, North Carolina, and my master of divinity at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, South Carolina, where I also served on the adjunct faculty in music and liturgy. I am a Lutheran pastor, have served congregations in Pennsylvania and the Carolinas as a musician, and also served as a pastor at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Columbia, South Carolina. I am married to Rebekah Weant Costello, also a musician and a graduate student in theology. We have one son, Andrew.
Janel Dennen, School Music Teacher
I direct the choir for grades 3-4 and teach general music to grades 3-6. I work with the children in other subjects as well, including reading, and math in first grade. I have a bachelor of arts in vocal music education from St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota, and love to play the piano, dance, drum, and bake. I have a 12-year-old son. One of my husband’s many talents is his cartoon “Shrubtown,” which appears in the Wednesday Journal.
Jo-Ellyn Dorsey, Fourth Grade Teacher
I have taught school for 38 years and have taught groups of young people of all ages (3-21). I love providing an atmosphere in which children can learn. It is the children who inspire me and keep me young and growing. I completed my undergraduate studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago and did graduate work there, too. I am certified in SLANT (Structured Language Training) and have taken specialized reading and math courses in the Lindamood-Bell Learning Process. I grew up in the Lutheran church but did not begin teaching in Lutheran schools until 1991. Before that, I taught special education in the Chicago Public Schools and in a private special education facility for children with multiple challenges. I feel that every child can learn and that all have special gifts and talents. I have been nominated for the Golden Apple Award and have received the Good News Award–Outstanding Lutheran Teacher given by the CLEFF Foundation. I have given numerous workshops and presentations for church groups and at the university level. I enjoy serving others and volunteering in various ways in the community and internationally. I have been a foster parent for 16 young people and am an assisting minister and lector for Sunday morning church services. I also enjoy sewing, beading and knitting and especially love spending time with my husband.
Gwen Gotsch, School Music Teacher, GLCS Communications Coordinator
I direct the choir for grades 5-6 and teach music classes in junior and senior kindergarten. I also lead Grace's Joyful Voices, a choir for children in grades 1-4 which rehearses on Wednesday evenings. At Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois, I majored in music and theater and studied piano and voice. I went to graduate school in theater at Indiana University in Bloomington and studied voice with Anne Porayko at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago. I grew up in Lutheran schools and have been singing in choirs for most of my life. Before becoming a children's choir director, I worked for La Leche League International, writing and editing books on parenting and breastfeeding. I have three children, one who is a special education teacher and two still in high school. When I'm not at Grace singing or working on communications projects, I like to knit, read, and direct plays for Tuesday's Child, a drama group based at Grace.
Lisa Guagenti, Part-time School Social Worker
Christa Holm, Library Media Specialist
I have been the library media specialist at Grace since 2001. In addition to promoting reading and helping students learn to do effective research, I work with students and staff on technology education and provide language arts enrichment opportunities. Prior to that, I served as the church's Web master for two years. I have a master's degree in library and information sciences and am currently studying educational technology.
Jackie Johnson
I have been the senior kindergarten classroom aide for the past four years. I have an associates degree in early childhood education from Triton College, and I am currently working on completing my course work for my Bachelors in ECE at National Louis University. I am married and have three children, Levell, Kennedy and Seneca. In my spare time I love to read and watch "Law and Order" and cooking shows.
Ruth Massman, Fifth Grade Language Arts
I am the proud product of a Lutheran education. I attended Lutheran elementary school and high school, and received degrees in social Work and education from Concordia University in Irvine, California. My professional preparation in education and work experience has centered around children. I worked as the Executive Director of Family House, a social service agency in Valparaiso, Indiana, that aided children and families in crisis. Upon moving back to the Chicago area, I completed student teaching in the Chicago Public Schools and at St. Philip Lutheran School. I accepted a position at St. Philip immediately following student teaching and in the years that followed taught grades 5-8. I am a wife to Andy, a mother to three daughters, an active member of Grace Church, a fan of good baseball, and an avid Scrabble player.
Julia Nelson, Junior Kindergarten teacher
Maureen O'Connor, Special Education Coordinator
I have been a teacher at Grace Lutheran School since 1984, when I was asked to start a program to address the needs of students with learning difficulties. Before coming to Grace, I had taught primary grades at Mercy Elementary School in Burlington, Iowa, and had also taught in the Oak Park Public Schools. I received my bachelor of arts degree from St. Xavier University, Chicago, and a master of science in learning disabilities and a master of arts in educational administration from Dominican University, River Forest. Believing that children learn best when they are totally engaged in the learning process, I have become certified in and trained in several multisensory, structured language programs. I have been an active member of the Illinois branch of the International Dyslexia Association, have served on their board of directors, and served as president in 2009 and 2010. When I began teaching at Grace, I was the mother of five children, all of them under the age of 10. They are now all adults, and I am a grandmother. In 2008 my granddaughter began first grade at Grace. During my journey at Grace I have been supported by a uniquely gifted professional staff. Together we have touched the lives of many children and helped them realize their own gifts and strengths and become successful students.
Paulette Reddel, First Grade Teacher
I have taught first grade at Grace Lutheran School since 1990. In addition to my classroom role, I teach music in first and second grades and lead the children in choir for Sunday morning worship services. I attended Concordia Teachers College in River Forest, Illinois, where I majored in education. Later I received a master's degree in reading instruction from Concordia. In the past I have been employed at Mt. Calvary Lutheran School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where I taught fourth grade, and at St. Andrew’s Lutheran School in Park Ridge, Illinois, where I taught first and third grades. At Grace I am involved with welcoming new members into the congregation. I also serve as a Stephen Minister.
Ellie Schnack, Senior Kindergarten Teacher
I teach senior kindergarten at Grace each morning and a program for four- and five-year-olds in the afternoon. Early in my career I taught first grade at St. Paul Lutheran School in Melrose Park, Illinois, and later created their program for three- and four-year-olds. I have been employed by District 97 in Oak Park, Illinois, working as a homebound tutor as well as a Title I reading specialist. In my first year of teaching in Wisconsin, I taught "big" kids--fourth-graders. I attended Concordia Teachers College in River Forest, Illinois, where I received a bachelor of arts and a master of arts in education. While in college I was active in children’s theater and the Concordia Players and participated in the synchronized swim team. I worked as a lifeguard and swimming teacher while in high school and college. I thank my sixth-grade teacher at Trinity Lutheran School in Davenport, Iowa, for encouraging me to become a Lutheran teacher! I am married and have two grown children. Our daughter is an early childhood special education teacher and lives in Anchorage, Alaska, with her husband and our first grandson. Our son is a recent postgraduate with a master's degree in sustainable housing (architecture); he and his wife live in Phoenix, Arizona.
Sandy Schommer, Prekindergarten
I am the prekindergarten teacher at Grace Lutheran School. I come to Grace after eight years of teaching kindergarten and first grade at Timothy Christian School in Elmhurst. In 2002 I graduated from Trinity Christian College where I majored in elementary education with a concentration in English. After a few years of teaching I went on to obtain a master's degree in education at the Erikson Institute, focused on early childhood development. I've come away from this program with a high interest in the social-emotional development of children and how it relates to learning. I strive to develop a classroom community which is warm and welcoming for students and encourages personal growth. A native of the Chicagoland area, I grew up in the southwest suburbs. I currently live in the West Loop neighborhood of Chicago with my husband, Jay, and son, Charlie. When not in the classroom I enjoy taking walks with my family, seeking out Chicago's best cup of coffee and rooting on Notre Dame's football team.
Brian Schultz, Seventh Grade Teacher
I am the junior high math, science, and physical education teacher. Aside from teaching the students about the wonders of the mathematical world, I am the girls’ volleyball coach, fifth- and sixth-grade boys’ basketball coach, and a track and field coach. I received a bachelor of science in business administration from Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana, and graduated from Valparaiso's LEAPs program with a master's in education. Before coming to Grace, I taught for two years at a Lutheran school in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago, and I spent half a year substitute teaching at a high school in Valparaiso. Outside of teaching and coaching, I enjoy watching and playing any sport and just enjoying the wondrous experiences of life.
Stacy Sorg, Second Grade Teacher
In my second grade position here at Grace, it is my fervent hope that I can touch the lives of my students in some meaningful way, as I was profoundly impacted by great teachers throughout my life. After high school in Valparaiso, Indiana, I attended Miami University for a B.A. in creative writing. While working in medical sales, I attended UIC for an M.B.A in marketing and then went on to Northeastern Illinois for elementary education. Having lived my life in natural mentoring roles, I found the transition to elementary teaching to be an easy and fulfilling one. I have worked in Oak Park District 97 in 4th and 5th grades. My husband, two boys, black lab, and I live in Oak Park. When I am not in the classroom, I enjoy reading, being outside, coaching swimming, and scuba diving.
Nancy Tabb, German
I came to Grace School from Walther Lutheran High School where I taught German I-IV for 9 years. I also regularly tutor high school students in German. I graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University with a major in music and minors in both German and business. I received a masters in piano performance from Northwestern University and have taught private lessons, directed church choirs and praise teams, participated in musical revues, music-directed community music theatre productions, and taught classroom music from pre-school through the community college level.
William Thompson, Fifth Grade, Junior High Math
I grew up in a loving family with parents who wanted their children to receive a Christian education at St. John's Lutheran School in Elgin, Illinois. That experience led me to become a teacher. I attended Concordia University, River Forest, Illinois, where I received bachelor of arts and master of arts degrees. After more than forty years of teaching, I still believe in providing quality education through the lens of a Christian perspective. My love for teaching has provided me with a world of opportunities, including teaching assignments in a variety of grade levels and school organizations. Living in a foreign culture and teaching in an international school broadened the lens I now look through as I prepare students to enter today's much smaller and more accessible world. The greatest gift a person can receive is the love of learning. Combine that with caring Christian teachers, and you have the essence of Grace Lutheran School.
Lisa Wolfanger, Eighth Grade Teacher
I have been a teacher in Lutheran schools for more than two decades. Before coming to Grace, I taught in Lutheran schools in Pittsburgh and New York City. I received a bachelor's degree in education from Concordia, River Forest, Illinois, and a master's in education from Nazareth College, Rochester, New York. At Grace I teach English-language arts, American history, and religion. In addition to my classroom duties, I direct the Grace School bell choir as well as the church's youth and adult bell choirs.
