Jon M. Bennett
Founding Special Education Teacher (Case Manager)
Jon M.
Bennett hails from Gary, IN. He studied non-profit
management at Indiana University and went on to complete a Master of
Information Science degree during his stay there. He took his
experiences to
the non-profit sector, working as an assistive technology instructor
for adults
with disabilities. Motivated by the progress he was able to make with
adults,
he decided to take on the school system.
Mr. Bennett taught special
education for several years in the District
of Columbia Public Schools and completed an Education Specialist degree
in
Special Education from The George Washington University. Most recently,
Mr.
Bennett taught special education and worked as a Dean of Students
Affairs at a
charter school in Providence, RI. He looks forward to doing his part in
helping
Muchin prepare all of its students for productive lives beyond high
school.
Jillian Carew
Founding Algebra Teacher
Jillian Carew was born in Los Angeles, CA and raised in Chicago, IL.
After
graduating from Morgan Park High School, she pursued a Bachelor of Arts
in
Sociology, with a focus in Mathematics from the University of Illinois
@
Urbana-Champaign. Upon graduating, she joined the Teach for America
movement in
a effort to ensure that one day all children will obtain an excellent
education. While serving as a 2007 corps member in the Las Vegas
Valley, she
taught for two years and earned a Masters of Education in Curriculum
&
Instruction from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. Jillian currently
serves
as a member of the Hedgehog team whose purpose is to facilitate the
integration
and mastery of the College Readiness Standards throughout the Noble
Street
Charter School campuses. Her passion and dedication as an educator can
be
summarized with the following quote: "The question is not whether we
can
afford to invest in every child; it is whether we can afford not to."
-Marian Wright Edelman
Stacy Hodges
Founding School Social Worker
Stacy Hodges was born in St. Paul, Minnesota and grew up in Stillwater,
Minnesota. After graduating high school, Ms. Hodges went on to the
University of
Minnesota-Twin Cities (a.k.a. "The U") where she earned a
Bachelor of Science in Family Social Science in 2001. During
her time
at "The U", Ms. Hodges completed several internships working
with youth in inner-city St. Paul and also worked with youth
with
disabilities and their families in training college students to be
Personal
Care Attendants. Once she completed her undergraduate education, Ms.
Hodges
began working as a Vocational Team Coordinator at
Access to
Employment where she assisted adults with disabilities
in finding
and sustaining competitive employment for 1 1/2
years. In
2003, Ms. Hodges entered into graduate school
at Washington
University in St. Louis to pursue a Master of Social
Work
(MSW) at the George Warren Brown (GWB) School of
Social Work as a
Whitney M. Young scholar. Ms. Hodges completed her graduate work at GWB
and
received her MSW with an emphasis in Children, Youth, Families and
School
Social Work in 2005. Upon graduation, Ms. Hodges went back to
Minnesota
and worked as a School Social Worker in the North St.
Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale school district for four years in the
elementary,
middle, and high school settings. Ms. Hodges is excited about being
apart of
the Noble Network in assisting the founding and future classes
of Muchin
College Prep in becoming successful young adults.
Angela Jiang
Founding Biology Teacher
Angela Jiang was born in China and raised in Columbus, IN.
She then
attended Duke University where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree
in
biology and a minor in English. She began her career through
Teach for
America Chicago from 2007-09 as a biology teacher at Manley
CareerAcademy in
the North Lawndale neighborhood. While teaching, she also
earned her
Masters of Arts in Teaching with a focus on secondary
science. She is
looking forward to teaching at Muchin where she will be working with a
cohesive
team of motivated individuals, all striving to provide the best
education
possible for Chicago's children.
Tiara Jordan
Founding Special Education Teacher (Case Manager)
Tiara S. Jordan was born and raised in Flint, MI. She
was very active in student organizations
as well as sports in high school. Her commitment and dedication to
track and
field awarded her a full-ride scholarship to Ohio University where she
graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Special Education. Throughout
college
she was a mentor at the Boys and Girls club of America as well as
volunteering
for many community service projects with her sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha
Sorority Inc. Tiara moved to Chicago last year after receiving a
position at
another Noble Street Charter School. Tiara is enthusiastic and is
passionate
about helping her students grow and learn to reach their full potential. She
is very pleased to be a part of the
Muchin College Prep team and is looking forward to a successful year
with both
staff and students.
Katherine Knox
Multicultural Literature Teacher
Ms. Knox was born in Springfield, Vermont, but grew up in small-town
Michigan
just outside Ann Arbor. After attending the University of
Michigan for
two years after high school, she decided to transfer to Albion College,
a small
Liberal Arts school to enjoy smaller class sizes, better relationships
with
professors, and extra-curriculars like varsity swimming.
Having graduated
Summa Cum Laude from Albion with a degree in English, minor in
Psychology, and
Secondary Education concentration, Ms. Knox student-taught and was
later hired
as a High School English teacher at at a district in Jackson,
Michigan.
Two years later she had the opportunity to move to Chicago, and she
didn't look
back! She continued to teach English at the high school level
for two
years before joining the Noble and Muchin team. Outside the
classrom, Ms.
Knox enjoys reading, cooking, walking her dog, and taking advantage of
all that
Chicago has to offer like concerts, parks, and museums.
Someday, she
hopes to finish her Master's Degree in Educational Leadership or
Reading.
She is very excited to meet and work with the students and families of
Muchin
College Prep!
Emily Mason
Founding Algebra Teacher
Emily R. Mason was born and raised in Chanhassen, MN. After
high school,
she was accepted into DePauw University in Greencastle, IN.
She ran four
years on DePauw's varsity cross-country and track and field teams.
In
2007, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology.
For the past
two years, she taught 7th and 8th graders Pre-Algebra and Algebra
respectively
in St. Louis, MO. Over the summer she worked in Atlanta, GA
as an advisor
to incoming teachers training them how to instruct effectively.
Emily has
worked with children of all ages her entire life and is beyond thrilled
to push
Muchin's scholars beyond their potential as they begin their journey to
prepare
for college.
Nathania Sanidad
Founding Science Teacher
Ms.
Nathania Sanidad was born in the Philippines but grew up
in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago. After graduating from Mundelein
High
School Ms. Sanidad attended DePaul University and obtained a Bachelor
of
Science degree in Biological Sciences with a Chemistry minor. Following graduation
Ms. Sanidad was employed in the science/pharmaceutical
industry for Avon Cosmetics and Abbott Laboratories where she worked as
a
microbiologist and software programmer.
After a few years in
cooperate industry she began taking education
courses at National Louis University and is currently in the process of
completing her Master’s Degree. She was recently a Biology
and
Physics/Chemistry teacher at Highland Park High School and most
recently worked
at Glenbrook South High School. Ms. Sanidad hopes to use her love and
passion
for science to help encourage students to capitalize on their natural
curiosities to become life long learners.
Kaitlyn Sullivan
Founding English Teacher
Ms.
Sullivan was born and raised in Arlington Heights, IL.
She began her career teaching tenth-grade writing and eleventh-grade
literature
at a charter school in Chicago. During her undergraduate career, she
pursued a
major in English and a minor in secondary education at the University
of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. While there, she had the opportunity to
study
drama in London through a summer study abroad program. Continuing her
tradition
of summer study, Ms. Sullivan currently spends her summers in Vermont
pursuing
a Master of Arts in English degree at Middlebury College’s
Bread Loaf School of
English. Ms. Sullivan is passionate about teaching writing and is proud
to be a
part of Muchin’s founding staff.