Highcrest Middle School New Staff

Michael Holden will be joining HMS as the new 5th and 6th grade band director. He has previously taught music in Schaumburg School District 54. Michael holds a Bachelor of Science in Business ('03) from Indiana University and a Master of Music from Northern Illinois University ('07). He currently performs on trumpet and horn with the Glenview Concert Band and the Red, White, & Brass Band. Michael also loves playing Guitar Hero. Outside of music, he enjoys biking, volleyball, Frisbee, golf, movies, and dogs. A fun fact about Michael is that he has lived in six different states (Illinois, Texas, California, Florida, Indiana, and Ohio)!

Maila Perona Albrecht Spanish	Maila Perona Albrecht would like to say ¡Hola todos! to everyone at HMS! Maila will be joining our team as the new part-time Spanish instructor. She grew up in Glenview, IL where she attended St. Catherine Labouré and GBS. Since high school she has studied and has a deep love of Spanish language and culture. Maila graduated with a BA in Spanish at UIC and later completed her M.Ed. in Secondary Education (Teaching Modern Languages) at DePaul University. She has taught for seven years at the Frances Xavier Warde School, a progressive school located in Chicago’s downtown cathedral district. There, she started a Spanish program for the middle school grades 6-8. Maila has studied abroad in Guadalajara and Oaxaca, México. She has also studied Italian and Portuguese and has a background in bilingual education. Outside of school, Maila keeps busy with her family. Her husband Peter is a Glenview firefighter/paramedic and they have two beautiful children. Her son Nicholas is 2 ½ and her daughter Nalani is 17 months old. Maila has a lot of fun with her family and they love to read, dance, play, and shop together all the time!
Sarah Gryka Math Enrichment	Sarah Gryka is very excited to be working as a Math Enrichment instructor at HMS. A lover of math for many years, Sarah graduated from Knox College in Galesburg, IL, with a major in elementary education and a minor in math. She has taught math for four years, most recently at Solomon Schechter in Skokie. Sarah has worked as a curriculum writer and is published in gifted curricular education. Outside of school, Sarah loves reading and working on all sorts of arts and crafts projects. She has spent the summer doing projects around the house and spending time with her husband, a chef, and their dog, a teacup Yorkie. Sarah is looking forward to a great first year at HMS!
Michael Holden Band Director	Michael Holden will be joining HMS as the new 5th and 6th grade band director. He has previously taught music in Schaumburg School District 54. Michael holds a Bachelor of Science in Business ('03) from Indiana University and a Master of Music from Northern Illinois University ('07). He currently performs on trumpet and horn with the Glenview Concert Band and the Red, White, & Brass Band. Michael also loves playing Guitar Hero. Outside of music, he enjoys biking, volleyball, Frisbee, golf, movies, and dogs. A fun fact about Michael is that he has lived in six different states (Illinois, Texas, California, Florida, Indiana, and Ohio)!
Grace Hollander Paraprofessional	Grace Hollander will be joining us this year as a paraprofessional. She graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University this past May with an Educational Studies major and a minor in Anthropology (she loves learning about people)! This summer she was a teacher’s aide in Arlington Heights where she had the opportunity to work with two boys; both on the autism spectrum. She said this experience was fascinating and she learned so much from them! Some of her favorite things to do are teaching, going to the beach, reading, laughing, horseback riding, learning about new things, and eating (she especially loves dark chocolate!). Some other fun facts about Grace: she generally does not like spiders (yet this didn’t stop her from petting a tarantula, whose name was Gracie, so she had to give in, and now she can say that she did it)! Grace is the middle child between a brother and a sister. She often has a song stuck in her head. Grace is very excited to be part of the HMS team!
Michael Kroll Learning Behvior Specialist	Michael Kroll is excited to be joining the HMS team as a Learning Behavior Specialist. He grew up in the far Northwest suburb of Cary and attended Cary-Grove High School. After CGHS he attended Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Science as well as a Master of Arts degree in Instruction. After completing this part of his education he relocated to Northern Virginia and taught for the past three school years and attended George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Here, Michael completed and received a Master of Arts degree in Special Education. This summer along with his wife, Bernadette, his dog, Teagan, and his cat, Wiley, they returned to the Chicagoland area to settle down for years to come. He is a big Cubs fan! Michael is very excited to be a part of Highcrest Middle School as well as the wonderful community of Wilmette.
Shannon Loughlin Learning Behvior Specialist	Shannon Loughlin is joining the HMS team as a Learning Behavior Specialist. She graduated in 2006 from Illinois State University. Shannon received a bachelor's degree in Special Education. In June of 2006, she began teaching at The Mansion High School in Naperville and moved to Chicago. This created a crazy commute, but she loved her job and always wanted to live in Chicago, so she endured it. The Mansion is an alternative therapeutic day school that serves adolescents with severe emotional disabilities, many of whom have substance abuse problems, eating disorders, and suicidal ideations. Shannon enjoyed working with these kids so much that she actually considered becoming a social worker and began taking classes at UIC. However, she realized that teaching is her true passion and decided to stick with it. After two years at The Mansion, Shannon’s commute grew tiresome and she wanted to join a district that shares her appreciation for professional development. This search led her to HMS, where she is very excited to be working with new children and a different age group. She continues to live in Chicago (Lakeview East) and spent her summer teaching and traveling. She visited two places she always wanted to see, Ireland and St. Thomas!
Joan Moy Health/PE	Joan Moy will be joining the HMS family as a Health/Physical Education instructor. Joan graduated from Aurora University with a Bachelor in Physical Education. She currently resides in Morton Grove with her husband and five children. Her oldest (son) will attend Vanderbilt University in Tennessee this Fall. She has two children at Niles West High School in Skokie and two at Park View in Morton Grove. Joan enjoys cooking, crafts, and event planning. Her past experiences include: teaching assistant with the Niles Township District of Special Education, Children’s Ministry director in Chicago, sports coach, and countless hours of volunteering at Park View School.
Anne Riggs Part-time Nurse	Anne Riggs is looking forward to starting her first year as a part-time nurse at HMS. Anne lives in Chicago with her husband and two children, ages 7 and 10. She has a B.A. in History from Macalester College and a B.S. in Nursing from Loyola University. Prior to having children, Anne was employed as an R.N. at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, specializing in both Spinal Cord Injury and Pediatrics. Two years ago, after several years of being a full-time mom, she began working as a substitute school nurse at Middleton Elementary in Skokie and Baker Demonstration School in Evanston. During that time she also worked as an aide to children with special needs at Cherry Preschool in Evanston. Anne enjoys swimming and works out with both the Evanston and Northwestern masters teams.
Sarah Whitaker Speech/Language Pathologist	Sarah Whitaker is the new Speech/Language Pathologist at HMS. She is a recent graduated from the University of Iowa with a Master's Degree in Speech Pathology, where she also earned a Bachelor's Degree in Speech and Hearing Sciences. After six years in Iowa City, she became an avid Hawkeye fan (Go Hawks!). Sarah grew up in Moline, IL with three older brothers and a lot of chaos. She enjoys outdoor activities, traveling, playing soccer, and reading. Sarah is a new resident of Chicago and is excited to experience city living. She is looking forward to becoming a member of the Wilmette community and getting to know students, parents, and staff.
Jenna Williams Learning Behavior Specialist	Jenna Williams was a paraprofessional last year at HMS before completing a long-term substitute position at WJHS. We are happy to report that she is returning this year as a Learning Behavior Specialist. Jenna received her BA from Marquette University in History and Secondary Education. She recently finished her master's degree from Northeastern Illinois University in Special Education. Jenna grew up in Wilmette and attended HMS the first year it was open. She loves being outside because it allows her to do some of her favorite activities such as biking, sailing and scuba diving. Jenna has only been diving four years but has had the opportunity to dive in different parts of the world including the Mediterranean Sea, the Caribbean and the Great Lakes. When the weather is not conducive to being outside, she loves playing basketball and watching the Marquette Golden Eagles play. Jenna is very excited about being back at HMS and is looking forward to beginning the year.