Faculty Profiles
Countryside School 2007-2008
Arin Cox
Arin
is a Champaign native who always wanted to be a teacher.
She graduated from Central High School
in Champaign and then went to Illinois State University in Normal where
she
majored in elementary education. Following graduation in 2001, Arin was
a
substitute teacher in several districts before coming to us in
2001-2002 to
finish out the year for StacyÕs maternity leave.
Having worked five years as first grade primary contact
co-teacher, she is very excited to begin her tenure as our Kindergarten
primary contact teacher this
year. Arin,
an avid collector of Ògingerbread stuff,Ó and her husband
live in Philo with
their two young sons.
Stacy Kirby
A
Champaign native, Stacy also grew up wanting to be a teacher. After graduating in elementary
education from Valparaiso University, she taught kindergarten for a
year in
Rantoul. Despite her youth, she is
the senior staff member here. This is StacyÕs fifteenth year at
Countryside. She is the first grade
primary
contact teacher.
She has completed Gifted Levels I and
II training and is a certified Junior Great Books Leader. Stacy and her
husband
are proud parents of a preschooler and a kindergartener at Countryside.
In whatever
spare time she can find, Stacy likes to garden and read.
2/3
Maureen Beyt
Our new second grade primary teacher, Maureen, graduated from Loyola
University New Orleans in 2003 and holds a B.S. in Elementary Education
with additional certification in Early Childhood Growth &
Development. She began her master's degree in Curriculum &
Instruction concentrating in Elementary Math right before Hurricane
Katrina hit her city, but due to her heart-felt priority to her
students she decided to quit. However, she plans to pursue it
again. Prior to coming to Countryside, Maureen taught third grade
for three years at an independent school in New Orleans, long-term
substituted in several public schools in Texas, and tutored K-12th
grade students at Sylvan. She always knew she wanted to be a
teacher, and has been working with children in classroom settings in
some form since she was in seventh grade! Maureen enjoys anything
creative especially scrap-booking, gardening, and theater!
Our third grade primary contact teacher, Dawn holds a BS in Elementary Education and a MA in Special Education from the University of Iowa. She worked in Iowa for five years before teaching fourth grade at an independent school in Kansas City. She came to us in 2006 after teaching third grade for three years in Maryland. She and her husband are the parents of two young children. This is DawnÕs second year at Countryside.
4/5
Janet Brickey
Our 4th
grade primary contact co-teacher, Janet holds both Bachelor's (Elementary
Education)
and Master's Degrees
(Education/Reading/Administration) from Eastern Illinois
University. She has also been
trained in Gifted Education. A native of Westville, Illinois, Janet has
taught
grades 4-7 in both public and private schools including Oakland Steiner
School
using the Waldorf Curriculum. She enjoys water color painting,
gardening and
horseback riding.
Kathy Eckstein
Kathy is our fifth
grade primary contact
co-teacher. After six years
as a
full-time teacher, she is sharing her fifth graders this year with
Janet
Brickey. Kathy received a B.A.
degree from Purdue University and a M.S. from Santa Clara University in
Business Administration. She
worked for Motorola in California before taking time off for her young
family.
Working as a parent volunteer in her childrenÕs classrooms
stimulated her to go
back to school and obtain a teaching certificate. Before
moving to Champaign in 1998, Kathy taught third
grade. She has a grown daughter
and son. A frustrated saxophone player, Kathy loves reading mysteries,
relaxing
with Tai Chi, being outdoors in her garden, and playing with her new
dog.
Michele, who is in her sixth year at
Countryside,
graduated from Purdue University with dual majors in History and
African
American Studies before obtaining a MasterÕs degree from the U
of I in History
with a minor in Anthropology. In
2002 she received her MasterÕs 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 2003. Michele teaches middle school social
studies and study skills. When she has free time, she likes to spend
it
reading, oil painting, or traveling.
Before
coming to Countryside School in 1999, Marty had 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., Marty 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. Marty teaches middle school science and leads the Science Olympiad club. Perennial gardening and caring for her
bunny are
favorite pastimes. This is her ninth year at Countryside.
Our middle school math teacher and Math Counts coach,
Natalya
is a native of Arizona. She 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. Astronomy and technology are among her interests.
Josh is in his third year as our Physical
Education teacher/Athletic Director.
A
native of Monticello, Josh graduated from Lincoln College in education
with an
emphasis in Physical Education. 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. Coach Clark is the girlsÕ basketball coach. He enjoys spending time with family and
watching sports.
Go Cubs!
Lois
wears many hats at Countryside.
She has served as a prealgebra teacher and as a substitute
teacher for
eight years, as a lunchroom supervisor for two years, and Middle School
Foreign
Language Lab Director for two years.
Currently she teaches level G math, runs the language lab, and is the leader for middle schoolÕs
Odyssey of
the Mind club. Lois received
her B.A.
from Midland College in Fremont, Nebraska, and her M.S. from the
University of
Nebraska. During her twenty plus
years in education, she has worked with students ranging from
kindergarten
through middle school. She is the
parent of a Countryside alum and another grown son.
Lois likes to watch movies, scrapbook, and read.
Kim File
Kim,
our music teacher,
majored in
music education at Milligan College and did graduate work at the U of I. She taught 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, Kim is in her eleventh year with us. Kim loves chocolate, reading, and
traveling.
Chris Lukeman
A graduate of the U of
I, Chris taught for 15 years in
a private school in San Antonio, Texas before coming to us in 1995,
when she
started as P.E. teacher/Athletic Director. In addition to sports, one
of her
passions is the theater which may explain why, after retiring two years
ago as
our PE teacher, she decided to continue part time with
middle school Performing Arts and elementary
Moventures classes. She is the mother of two daughters in
college.
Katrina Widhom
Our
art teacher (2/3, 4/5, MS),
Katrina
received her BFA in Graphic Design/Visual Communications and her MFA in
Interaction Design from the University of Kansas. She
recently returned to family and the Champaign area after
living and teaching in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for three years. Her six
years
of teaching experience includes work 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.
Devin is the first student
to graduate from
Countryside to return as an employee!
She was one of the first students to complete her K-8 education
here. Now a student at the University of
Illinois majoring in Human Development and Family Studies, Devin is the
Extended
Day Director.
Our Chinese
and floating teacher, Sho Chen-Berry moved to the area in
September,
2004. Prior to that, she taught
for five years at a dual language, Mandarin/English, public elementary
school
where she served as both music and Mandarin teacher while working with
students
in all grades Pre-K to 5. Sho collaborated with the dance teacher to
design
performances for the school and community. She won the New Visions for
Public
SchoolÕs 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 MasterÕs degrees in music and
special
education. She plays both the Chinese and western flute and the piano.
This is
her third year at Countryside.