Meet our Faculty

Elementary School

Arin Cox – Kindergarten - graduated from Central High School in Champaign and received her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Illinois State University. She worked for five years as our first grade co-teacher with Mrs. Kirby and is now in her third year as primary contact teacher for the Kindergarten. She and her husband live in Philo with their two young sons.

Stacy Kirby – 1st grade – is in her seventeenth year of teaching at Countryside. She graduated from Centennial High School in Champaign and received her Bachelor’s degree from Valparaiso University. She has completed Gifted Levels I and II training and is a Certified Junior Great Books Leader. She and her husband are proud parents of a second grader and a Kindergarten student at Countryside.

Maureen Beyt – 2nd grade – has her BS in Elementary Education from Loyola University, New Orleans with additional certification in Early Childhood Growth & Development. She had begun her Master's degree in Curriculum & Instruction concentrating in Elementary Math when Hurricane Katrina hit her city. Mrs. Beyt taught third grade for three years at an independent school in New Orleans, long-term substituted in several public schools in Texas following Hurricane Katrina, and tutored K-12th grade students at Sylvan Learning Center before coming to us in 2008.

Dawn Richman – 3rd grade – has led our third grade class for four years. She has a BS in Elementary Education and MA in Special Education from University of Iowa. Prior to coming to Countryside, she taught fourth grade at an independent school in Kansas City for five years and third grade in Maryland for three years. She and her husband are the parents of two young children.

Janet Brickey – 4th grade – has a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and Master's degrees in Education/Reading/Administration from Eastern Illinois University. She has also been trained in Gifted Education. A native of Westville, Illinois, Janet has taught fourth – seventh grades in both public and private schools, including Oakland Steiner School using the Waldorf Curriculum.  This is her fourth year teaching at Countryside.

Kathy Eckstein – 5th grade - shares her class this year with co-teacher Mrs. Wilken for the second year, following six years as the full-time fifth grade teacher. Mrs. Eckstein received her Bachelor’s degree from Purdue University and an MBA from Santa Clara University. She worked for Motorola in California before taking time off for her young family. Working as a parent volunteer in her children's classrooms inspired her to go back to school and obtain her teaching certificate.

Lois Wilken – 5th grade After nine years as the pre-algebra teacher and a substitute teacher, Mrs. Wilken is now in her second year co-teaching fifth grade with Mrs. Eckstein. Mrs. Wilken received her BA from Midland College in Fremont, Nebraska, and her MS from the University of Nebraska. She is the coach for the middle school’s Odyssey of the Mind Club, which has qualified for World competition each of the four years we have offered it as a club.  In addition, she teaches a middle school math class, is our middle school World Language Lab director, and is the parent of a Countryside alum and another grown son.

Middle School

Nate Meyer – Literature and Writing Workshop – has a Bachelor’s degree in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing from University of Idaho. He is currently working toward his Master's in Educational Administration. Prior to coming to Countryside in 2008, Mr. Meyer taught writing and social studies for three years at Tri Valley Middle School in Downs, Illinois. He and his wife are the proud parents of a one-year-old son.

Michele O'Brien – Social Studies – is in her seventh year at Countryside. She graduated from Purdue University with dual majors in History and African American Studies before obtaining a Master's degree from the University of Illinois in History with a minor in Anthropology. In 2002 she also received her Master's degree in Education from the U of I. She worked as a teaching assistant at the U of I and at Circle Academy before accepting her first full-time teaching position at Countryside. In addition to teaching Social Studies, Ms. O’Brien is the Middle School Team Leader.

Marty Stambaugh – Science – taught middle school science at Urbana Middle School for nine years and served as the on-site coordinator for University of Illinois secondary education students who were student teaching at UMS. Having completed 22 graduate credits beyond her M.Ed., Ms. Stambaugh has taken advantage of numerous workshops, seminars, and courses to develop her interests in science education and related areas, as well as conducting various workshops herself. In addition to middle school science, she teaches middle school study skills classes. This is her eleventh year at Countryside.

Natalya Zielnicki – Math - graduated from Scripps College in Claremont, California with a BA in Mathematics and a BA in Studio Art. She worked with Arthur Benjamin at Harvey Mudd College on the design of Mental Math: The Mathemagician's Guide to Lightning Calculation and Amazing Math Tricks. She illustrated and wrote exercises for The Art of Mental Calculation, a workbook series for children about how to compute mental math. In addition to teaching Middle School Math since 2007, Mrs. Zielnicki is our MathCounts coach.  Her MathCounts teams have placed very well in both regional and state competitions.

Specialty Teachers

Josh Clark – Physical Education – is in his fourth year at Countryside. A native of Monticello, Josh graduated from Lincoln College in Education with an emphasis in Physical Education. He is our Athletic Director and boys’ and girls’ basketball coach. He has played and coached basketball and been a coach/counselor at various basketball camps. He also played football, baseball, and softball and ran track and field in high school.

Kim File – Music - majored in music education at Milligan College and did her graduate work at the University of Illinois. She taught for four years in Catlin and four years at an independent school in Indianapolis before taking time out to raise her family. The parent of three former Countryside students, Mrs. File is in her eleventh year with us.

Chris Lukeman – Performing Arts (middle school) and Moventures (elementary) – graduated from the University of Illinois and taught at a private school in San Antonio, Texas for fifteen years prior to coming to Countryside. She spent twelve years as our PE teacher/Athletic Director while actively involved in Performing Arts. She retired from Physical Education, but returned to continue teaching Performing Arts and establish our Moventures program in 2007.

Katrina Widholm – Art -- received her BFA in Graphic Design/Visual Communications and her MFA in Interaction Design from the University of Kansas. She returned to family and the Champaign area after living and teaching in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for three years. She previously taught at the University of Kansas, Robert Morris College, the American Academy of Art, and the British American School. She has also worked as a professional designer focusing on graphic design, website design and multimedia for the past fifteen years.  This is her third year at Countryside.

Devin Richardson – Extended Day Director - is the first Countryside graduate to return as an employee! She was one of the first students to complete her K-8 education at the school, and now is a senior at the University of Illinois majoring in Human Development and Family Studies.  This is her fourth year working with our students after school.

Adrielle Stapleton – Latin (4th grade – middle school) – holds a Bachelor’s degree in Classical Studies from Hillsdale College and a Master's degree in Classics with specialization in Latin from the University of Illinois.  She comes to us this year from Glenelg Country School where she taught high school Latin and AP Latin literature.

Sho-Yin Chen-Berry – Chinese (Kindergarten – middle school) – is in her fifth year teaching at Countryside. Prior to that, she taught for five years at a dual language - Mandarin Chinese/English - public elementary school in New York City, where she served as both the music and Mandarin teacher. Mrs. Chen-Berry won the New Visions for Public Schools grant in 2003, which enabled her to travel to the southwestern region of China. Her undergraduate work was done at the Taiwan University of Arts where she majored in Chinese music. In the U.S. she has earned Master’s degrees in both Music and Special Education. She plays the Chinese flute, western flute and piano.

Gail McWilliams – Spanish (Kindergarten – middle school) – is a twenty-year plus veteran high school and middle school teacher of French, English, and Spanish. She earned both her BA in French and her MA in English at the University of Illinois. For almost ten years she and her husband explored the East coast, Caribbean islands, and South America while living aboard a sailboat. Señora McWilliams began teaching at Countryside in 2006.