Alternative learning academies offer an array of special services and targeted supports for many students. Today we speak with four guests who work at these academies and provide insights into the world outside of the mainstream high school. 


Karena Robinson is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist at Academy North, one of the D211 alternative schools for the past six years.  Graduate of Fisk University with her BA, Tennessee State University with her Masters in Education, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology with her Educational Specialist degree, and soon to be graduate of Loyola University with her Doctor of Education degree this May.  She is active in the school community as a member of the District Equity Committee, PBIS team lead for Academy North  and assistant girls basketball coach at CHS.  Karena enjoys traveling, spending time with friends and family, exercising and reading.

Lisa Lau has been  a special education teacher at Academy North for the past six years.  Prior to this role, Lisa was a teaching assistant at both Schaumburg HS for 3 years and Conant HS for 5 and ½ years.  Graduate of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale with her BA and then completed her Master's degree at Concordia University. Lisa has been a coach for thirteen years of her tenure in D211, as she coached Boys’ Diving and Girls’ Water Polo while at SHS, then Girls’ Swimming and Girls’ Water Polo while at CHS.  Lisa enjoys spending time with family, being outdoors (golfing, swimming, running) and trying new recipes.

Kelly Peterson has been an instructional coach and special education teacher at Academy South for the past five years.  Kelly received her BA from the University of Illinois, her Masters in Educational Technology Leadership from Concordia University and holds a technology specialist certificate. Whether she is leading the Sunship Committee and Digital Democracy Initiative for Higgins Center, supporting the Higgins Center mentoring program or organizing service learning opportunities for students, she remains an active member of the Academy South community.  Kelly also previously coached volleyball at PHS and was a facilitator for the Adventure Learning Club at Academy South.  Kelly was the 2017/18 award recipient for the Higgins Center Excellence in Education Award.  Kelly enjoys exercising, cooking, traveling and spending time with friends and family in her spare time.

Ben Durchslag is a clinical social worker who has been working at Academy-North for 8 years. He is passionate about delivering restorative justice practices and trauma informed therapy in District 211 and community-based organizations throughout the Chicagoland area. Some of the work he has done in Chicago is focused on interrupting the cycle of violence in the Englewood community, combating segregation, and amplifying the voices of young people to take the lead on addressing social justice issues. At Academy-North he has implemented Restorative Circles, trained students in Peer Conferencing to resolve their own conflicts, and started the Peace Games as a way to build a collaborative culture in the school.  He received his bachelor’s degree from  University of Iowa and Masters from University of Chicago.  Finally, Ben had received the Palatine Jaycees Outstanding Young Person’s Award for Contributions to Children and World Peace / Human Rights in 201.  

In this conversation we explore what it looks like to re-open our doors and welcome students back into the building as we "get back to normal," learning from lessons gleamed from Louisiana post-Hurricane Katrina. 

In this episode, we will speak to Kevin Guitterrez currently of the Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools.  Kevin has a 25-year career in education as both teacher and administrator.  In 2005, he served as the Chief Academic Officer for the Algiers Charter School Association which is located in the 15th ward of New Orleans on the west bank of the Mississippi River.  

We chat with four instructional coaches and learn about how the power of coaching can bring us to our next level as an educator. After all, if Lebron James and Tom Brady have coaches, why can't we?

• Liz Sheehan, Palatine English teacher and Instructional Coach at Palatine and North Campus (6th year as coach)
• Katie Giegler, Science teacher and Instructional Coach at Fremd High School (7th year as coach)
• Alina Morelli-Baima, a return guest to the podcast, Special Education teacher and Instructional Coach at SHS (7th year as coach)
• And Patti Ertl, Conant Business Ed teacher and Instructional Coach at Conant High School, as well as one of the producers of this podcast (7th year as coach)

When the unexpected happens in the world, we don't want to pretend with our students that it didn't. In this conversation we explore with Department Chairs Cherea Sparkman and Kevin Mallon how to support student emotions and learning while remaining neutral as educators.

Cherea Sparkman is the World Language chair and has been a teacher at Hoffman Estates High School for 21 years. She also sponsors Cultural Awareness Club.  Her colleague Kevin Mallon also teaches at Hoffman Estates High School and is the Social Studies Department Chair for the past 10 years, 

Equity and Inclusivity do not just happen. It takes conscientious effort over time to truly work toward these ideals. Today we speak with Nathaniel Rouse, the Director of Equity, Race, & Cultural Diversity Initiatives at Barrington Community School District 220.

Nathaniel L. Rouse began his teaching career in public education as an English teacher at West Leyden High School in the fall of 1999. After teaching for 3 years, he entered education administration as a Dean of Students at his alma mater, Elgin High School in 2002. From 2004-2008, Mr. Rouse was an assistant principal at Highland Park High School before becoming the first African-American principal at Oak Park & River Forest High School in 2008.   After serving as Principal at Oak Park and River Forest High School, Mr. Rouse became the first ever Director of Equity, Race, & Cultural Diversity Initiatives at Barrington Community School District 220 for the 2020-2021 school year.  

Mr. Rouse is in his 25th year in education and is dedicated to transformational leadership, service, and action that eradicates the systemic inhibitors in schools that continue to marginalize students of color.  Oak Park River Forest was the high school featured on the Starz Docuseries America to Me which aired in 2018, which focused on the achievement disparities of students of color in an affluent suburban school district. In 2011, Mr. Rouse received the Phi Delta Kappa Educator of the Year Award from Northeastern Illinois University.  In 2018, Mr. Rouse received the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and Citizenship Education Fund Overcomers Award. Finally, Mr Rouse was most recently featured in the 2020 November/December Quintessential Barrington.   Mr. Rouse has a proven track record of challenging the status quo to successfully lead and transform educational systems to attain equitable outcomes for all. 

This week's episode features teachers who began their professional careers in other industries, and they offer some reflective insights into what led them to teaching and what they bring with them from their lives before education. 

Mr. Tim Harte teaches Social Studies and is currently in his 8th year teaching at Conant high school, though he has  coached soccer since 2002.

Ms. Shayna Adelman is in her 7th year at Conant teaching classes like engineering, computer science, and physics.  In addition those courses, Shayna works with students from improv and theater.

Mr. Erik Hauser has been teaching biology at Conant for 18 years.  He is also the athletic coordinator and he sponsors the HOSA club.  He’s worn many hats in his career as he has been the dean of students, coached water polo and football, and sponsored student council and environmental club

When we speak of equity in education, race might be the first topic that comes to mind. Today our conversation with Vicki Gruzynski helps us examine how gender and sexuality also play a role and how we can help prepare students themselves for engagement post-high school. 

Vicki is a Teaching and Learning Librarian, and also currently serving as the Director for Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Worcester State University in Worcester, Massachusetts.  She has been at Worcester State since 2016 and has served as the Director of WGSS since 2019. She previously worked at the University of Colorado, the American Library Association, and Southeast Missouri State University.

Vicki graduated from Illinois State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish with minors in Latin American Studies and Linguistics, and graduated from Indiana University with a Master’s in Library Science and a Master of Arts in Latin American and Caribbean Studies.

As we explore equity and how we can enhance the learning experience for all our students, instructional coach Alina Morelli-Baima helps introduce us to some important frameworks for understanding this work.

Alina Morelli-Baima is currently an Instructional Coach and Special Education teacher at Schaumburg High School. Well known across D211 for leading engaging professional development sessions and In-District book studies, most recently on Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain by Zaretta Hammond.  Food and beverage aficionada. Reader. Beader. Traveler. Technology enthusiast. Worked as an educator in the Cook County Jail before moving into teaching Special Education in public high schools. Twitter bio: I aspire to inspire before I expire. @constantpupil

We sit down with three Conant alumni and ask them to look back and reflect on their time as students at Conant High School and on their experiences as college students during the pandemic.

We welcomed Elizabeth Einig (Class of 2017). Annie Fu (Class of 2020), and Priyana Kumar (Class of 2017) to share their perspectives. 

We host our first panel interview, discussing with three award-winning educators their thoughts and experiences with hybrid and remote teaching so far.

Steve Elza, an Applied Technology teacher at Fremd High School and the 2015 Illinois Teacher of the Year.

Brian Curtin teaches English at Schaumburg High School and is the 2013 Illinois Teacher of the Year

Tanya Katovich, Hoffman Estates High School Chemistry teacher, is a recipient of the 2019 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST), which are the highest honors bestowed by the United States government specifically for K-12 science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and/or computer science teaching.  She was also a Top 10 Finalist for Teacher of the Year in 2019.