Ms. Annie Alvarez

My Name is Annie Alvarez I have been homeschooling for the past 10 years and have taught art and science out of my home for the past 5. I have also taught classes at Schaumburg House for 5 years and currently also teach at Champs co-op. I have a big passion for art and science, and I love to teach. I am also a scout leader and mother of 3 beautiful kids. We are so blessed to have this wonderful opportunity to homeschool and wouldn’t have it any other way. Looking forward to this year.

Ms. Stephanie Barth

I have a BA in Art from Florida State University, and worked as a computer programmer, software developer and project manager for 10 years before becoming a stay-at-home mom. I have been homeschooling for 10 years and have taught classes at Schaumburg House and Little Red Homeschool co-op in subjects such as Book Club, Art, and STEM. I was a Scout Leader for a few years as well. I love art and books, and I enjoy seeing the creativity of children.

Ms. Liz Cassidy

Liz is a 23 year veteran homeschool mom of nine, with a BS degree in Math/Computer Science from University of Illinois, Champaign/Urbana.  A love for math and discovery of learning for children makes teaching a joy for her.  She has taught religious education, and supplemental math and science to all different levels of education.  She also teaches at Champs Homeschooling Co-Op. She is actively involved with church and loves to cook, read, and garden. 

Ms. Sarah Dakof-Coffman

Hi my name is Sarah Dakof – Coffman. I have worked in the in the teaching profession for over 15 years. I have my BA in Early Education and Child Development from Ashford University. I was a Divisional Field Trainer for Home Depot and worked in many stores and districts developing and delivering training classes for new store openings in the Chicagoland Market for 6 years. I also worked as a preschool teacher at Children of America and Creative Care Montessori before becoming a mother to two wonderful daughters. I have been homeschooling for the past 12 years.

Mr. Guy Desaulniers

Guy's educational background is in Psychology and Statistics. After graduating from the University of Connecticut he attended graduate school at the University of Illinois in Psychology. During that time he was a TA and an Instructor at the University of Illinois. A lecturer presents to a class but a TA works with students one on one. Subsequently he worked in the business world for many years.  As a manager he was extensively involved in training, to the point that his company had a nickname DesMac U because of the emphasis on training.  He has for the last 10 years worked as a tutor at Discovery Learning Institute. His emphasis has been in math and test preparation.  Test prep, in addition to math, includes English, Reading and Writing. Teaching Philosophy: Like most teachers his philosophy of education is a Socratic approach. He is trying to help the student figure out the answer on their own. Fortunately this is much easier to do in a small group, such as a co-op class. We all remember information that we have discovered on our own much more easily than when we are “zoning out” while we listen to something. Of course information does need to be presented briefly. But then the emphasis is on practice and integrating the material into one’s thinking.

As a final note he will mention that he generally believes that math is easy for most students. Problems arrive from a couple of sources: The way we communicate about it, the vocabulary and notation, and the cumulative nature of the knowledge. He does his best to be watching for those issues and thus minimize the the barriers to a student’s success.

Ms. Masha Furmanova

Eight years ago, in search of an improv class for my daughter I was given the opportunity to create such a class for her and other homeschooler at Champs Homeschooling Co-Op.  This led to my developing theatre classes for youngsters that isn't quite improv, but employs improvisation.  

My involvement in theatre goes back to college days where I performed in stage plays each year.  About that same time, I took upon myself to produce and direct church Christmas pageants and did so for 18 years.  For the past 14 years I have been a student of improv.  For about 5 years I have taught, these same classes offered here, at Champs Homeschool Co-Op.  I absolutely love theatre - but the joy in children's eyes as they come to life through imagination and creativity is what really makes it worthwhile.

Ms. Natalie Krastev

Natalie Krastev was homeschooled herself, and she has been homeschooling her own children for more than 10 years. She has a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Wisconsin—Parkside. Some of her favorite memories from her time in college were made while tutoring or working as a Teaching Assistant because she could work directly with students to help them find their voice in writing. While never formally trained in art, creativity has been a persistent pursuit of hers since childhood. She views art as a natural extension of being alive, not merely a commodifiable expression of humanity. Much like Chef Gusteau in Ratatouille, Natalie believes anyone can create art.

Ms. Katie Redding

Spanish I – Assistant Instructor

I am a proficient Spanish speaker. I took Spanish in high school & college. I spent 9 months living in Venezuela during college, and I currently speak Spanish routinely in my work at the Dundee Library.

I have 8 years experience teaching classes at home school co-ops and the library.

I majored in fine art in college, with an emphasis in 3 dimensional work. My interests include all forms of art, nature, gardening and books. I have been planning, promoting and teaching arts & craft classes to teens and adults at the Dundee Library for the past 8 years. I have also led art classes at multiple home school co-ops and Side Street Studio Arts in Elgin, IL.

Ms. Rebecca Reid

Rebecca is starting her twelfth year of homeschooling. She has a degree in English and teaching experience as a writing tutor and as an elementary-level teacher at local homeschool co-ops, where she’s taught language arts, Spanish, history, and STEM. She has two decades of Spanish language experience. Over the years, she has been a member of GIFT, Fox Valley Free Learners, Champs, Little Red Homeschool, Barrington Area Homeschoolers, and more. She loves creating games and hands-on activities for her own kids and her students, and she sells games and printables on TPT. For the 2023-2024 year, she’ll be homeschooling 1.5 of her three children.

Ms. Alexis Shipman

My name is Alexis Shipman. I have 5 kids, ranging from pre-school to high school, and we have been homeschooling from the get go! We never imagined we would homeschool our kids, but early on, we realized how much we loved having the freedom to explore our daughter's interests, to encourage her to be creative in learning and create an environment that valued her unique wiring and learning style. That mindset has continued to grow with each of our kids and shape not only our way of doing school, but our family as a whole. So, I am excited to have the opportunity to encourage our little-est co-op friends to explore and learn in some new and creative ways this year!  Besides homeschooling, a few things I love the most: my family, being creative, the beach, being a jail Chaplain.

Ms. Missy Stankowitz

Hi! My name is Missy Stankowitz.  I’m starting my fifth year of homeschooling and I have two amazing sons.  Before becoming a homeschooling parent, I worked in healthcare management and specialized in supporting seniors with memory care, which is something I truly cherished.  Both of my sons are heavily involved in sports and we are a very active family.  I, myself, just started playing hockey, but have always had a love for sports and friendly competition.  I have experience playing volleyball, basketball, track, softball, and dance. I am also an avid gardener, reader, and homesteader.  I’m excited to utilize my energy and love of sports this year at GROW.

Ms. Mariana Wade

My name is Mariana Wade, I was born and raised in Bogota, Colombia and moved to the U.S. in 2007. I have homeschooled my kids here in Illinois for the past 13 years. I specialized in languages in college, and taught English in Bogota. In addition to sales for IBM, I did translation work for 2 years before moving to the U.S. We speak Spanish and English in our home in Saint Charles. 

Ms. Magdalena Wojtowicz

My name is Magdalena Widlarz-Wojtowicz. I received Master’s Degree in Finance and Monetary Policy at The Poznan University of Economics and Business in Poznan, Poland. During my final years of college, I got accepted to collage exchange program (Erasmus) and I continued my education at The Aarhus University School of Business and Social Sciences in Aarhus, Denmark, where I completed a two-year Master Program in Finance and International Business (and learned a little bit of Danish). After getting married and moving to the United States in 2005, I worked in accounting, banking, and real estate. I have also tutored math for over 20 years. I love to cook and bake for my family. I am running a FB group called Sweet Spatula, where I share my baking and cooking creations with my Facebook friends. 

I am a mother of two girls. We started our homeschooling journey a few years ago and we love it! I am very happy to be a part of GROW and I am very excited about passing my love for cooking and baking to kids in this Co-op.