~Mrs. Amanda~
Mrs. Amanda lives in Batavia with her husband, 3.5 year old son, 2 cats, 2 dogs, a parrot, a hamster, a rabbit, iguana… I think we covered them all! She has her Bachelors degree in Elementary Education, but found herself enjoying working with younger children and it shows! Mrs. Amanda has been with Mill Creek ECP since the fall of 2017 and has been a vital part of our transition to our Batavia location.
~Mrs. Hsiao~
Mrs. Hsiao has been with Mill Creek ECP since the summer of 2017 and has also been a key part of our transition to Batavia. She lives in DeKalb with her husband and 3 young children. With a Bachelors in Early Childhood Education and over 30 hours of business classes she brings a wealth of knowledge to Mill Creek ECP. This year she is currently at home with her 3 young children as they are all eLearning.
~Ms. Emma & Ms. Kathleen~
Ms. Emma is currently attending Iowa State University for her bachelors in Early Childhood Education. Ms. Kathleen is attending Illinois State University for her bachelors in Elementary Education. They both started with us the summer of 2019 and return during their college breaks and over the summer. We love having them with us and look forward to their graduation...as they have a job ready and waiting!
~Mrs. Leslie~
Mrs. Leslie came to Mill Creek ECP with a desire and passion to get children outdoors, and that she does! Here kindergartners are climbing trees, walking though creeks, and discovering all that Batavia and its beauty has to offer their young minds. She lives in Naperville with her husband and 3 children whom are in college and enjoys cooking at home (and often shares her sweet treats with us) and with the children. She has her Masters in Elementary Education and has taught in public and private settings before joining Mill Creek ECP this summer.
~Mrs. Ali~
Mrs. Ali has her Bachelors degree in Early Childhood Education Leadership and she is currently pursuing her Masters degree in Early Childhood Education from Erickson Institute in Chicago. After years of work in the insurance industry, Mrs. Ali followed her dream of supporting the growth and development of young children. Since then, she has worked with children as an administrator, teacher, and a fitness instructor. Mrs. Ali enjoys yoga, hiking and reading. She lives in Yorkville with her husband, three children (14, 12, and 3 years old) and a house full of pets!
~Mrs. Silvia~
Mrs. Silvia has her CDA in Early Childhood Education in addition to her early childhood certificate. She started with us the summer of 2019 after her interview turned into a three hour field trip! We knew right then and there that she would, and still is an amazing addition to our program. Mrs. Silvia lives in Aurora and has three children, all of whom inspired her to switch careers and become a teacher.
~Mrs. Natalie~
Mrs. Natalie has a Bachelors in Elementary Education and is very passionate about nature based education and is highly involved in NINPA (Northern Illinois Nature Preschool Association). She has taught Kindergarten in public school settings and is now teaching nature based classes in the mornings. Afterwards she comes to Mill Creek ECP to help with enrichment classes. She may not tell you, but she also has an amazing voice and sings in her church choir... and in the classrooms!
~Mrs. Valerie~
Mrs. Valerie joined us this summer and has her Bachelors in Elementary Education. Mrs. Valerie has had the role of educator and administrator over the course of her educational career. She is an avid runner and animal lover; giving a lot of her free time to volunteer at local shelters. Mrs. Valerie plays a role in every aspect of the school from helping out in the office to jumping into the classrooms where needed. She also enjoys spending the afternoons with Mrs. Leslie and the Kindergarteners, allowing them to split into smaller groups during the day.
~Mrs. Michelle~
Mrs. Michelle has Bachelors from University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana in design. She is married, is vegan, and has two cats; Penny and Rufus who are named from the character in the Disney movie "The Rescuers". Mrs. Michelle feels that the joy and enthusiasm children have for life is incredibly contagious and is something we often lose sight of as adults. The way the children connect and engage with the environment around them inspires her to be mindful and do the same. This has in return helped her make the decision to enroll in ECE classes this spring!
~Mrs. Elizabeth~
Mrs. Elizabeth came to Illinois from Florida to help her daughter raise her twins! She is not only feeding them, but also feeding all of your children! Mrs. Elizabeth is our Mill Creek ECP Chef! If you thought shopping and planning meals for your family was hard, Mrs. Elizabeth does it for all of the children! She is very conscious of what she purchases and is always looking for new ways to present a wide variety of foods to the children.
~Mrs. Katie~
Mrs. Katie has a Bachelors in General Education with a focus on Special Education and Early Childhood. She has worked with children in multiple settings, her most recent is offering small group parent/child classes. She too feels strongly that children deserve rich outdoor experiences and we hope to coordinate some of her classes for our working families in the evening or weekends soon!
~Mrs. Megan~
Mrs. Megan has been teaching and working with children for seven years. She enjoys getting to know the children she works with and helping them explore and grow. Allowing children to discover and learn based on what interests them through various creative outlets is how children are able to learn and she is excited to be able to support them this way at Mill Creek Early Childhood Program. When she is not teaching she is spending as much time outdoors as possible. She went to school for Elementary Education at Western Illinois University and Wabaunsee Community College.
~Mrs. Jamie~
Mrs. Jamie is teacher qualified and has been teaching in various settings for many years! She is very athletic, vegan, married, and has an older daughter. Mrs. Jamie loves art, which aligns perfectly with our Reggio Inspired program. She is always looking at ways to help the children grow, seeing every child for their full potential.
~Mrs. Melanie~
Mrs. Melanie joined us this summer and is currently finishing her Associates in Early Childhood Education! She enjoys the outdoors and knew she wanted to be an educator. When she started over the summer she jumped right in and now teaches in our 2-3 year old classroom.
~Mrs. Stephanie~
Mrs. Stephanie has a Bachelors in Elementary Education, but similar to Mrs. Amanda, her heart and passion for teaching young children lead her to working with infants and toddlers. Coming from a more corporate program she has been excited for all the time we spend outside and the out of the box fun we have with the infants and toddlers...in fact she has been planning some exciting activities too! She is married and we are happy to share that she is expecting a boy in June whom will join the Mill Creek ECP family in the fall next year!
~Mrs. Mimi~
If it were not for Mrs. Mimi (a.k.a. Bubbie) Mill Creek ECP may not be what it is today as Ilana grew up watching Mimi (her mom) teach and run an early childhood program. She currently lives in Buffalo Grove with her husband and two birds, but spends a great deal of time in the city or Geneva with her grandchildren. She has a degree in education, originally teaching inner city high school students until having children. She then discovered her passion for teaching younger children when helping in her daughter’s classroom and decided to go back to school to receive her early childhood certification. She is currently helping out remotely to make sure Ilana is not falling to behind in paperwork!
~Mrs. Ilana~
Mrs. Ilana lives in Geneva with her husband and two daughters. She started Mill Creek ECP on June 9th, 2015. Mrs. Ilana is now a Kane County Certified Naturalist, has a Bachelors in Early Childhood Education, an Illinois Director Credential Level 2, and has several classes towards her Masters in Curriculum and Instruction. She will never turn down a sweet treat (anything chocolate) and is known to jump into an activity or event full speed ahead, rain or shine. She strives to be sure Mill Creek ECP is a place everyone feels welcomed, safe, and free to explore and discover while reflecting on their experiences to better themselves and the children enrolled at Mill Creek ECP.