Nick Duda has worked with educators and students throughout the world, as far as India, to promote meaningful, effective, and practical learning strategies and has been in education for over 18 years. He offers free STEM Education resources through his website and YouTube channel and professional development opportunities for teachers, administrators, and districts worldwide. He is certified in the State of Illinois, USA, to teach Math, Science, Social Studies, and Language Arts in grades 5-9 and Elementary Education, English as a Second Language (ESL) K-9, and is a Certified Technology Specialist PreK-12. His experience in education ranges from running a Middle School Summer Camp, a before and after school program, substitute teaching K-8, and teaching 5th grade, 6-8 Science, 7th Language Arts, 7th grade Math Interventions, and 7th grade STEM.Nick has been heavily involved in developing the curriculums for all the subjects he has taught (developing the large majority of resources). In addition, he has served on many committees, including the District Leadership Committee, Technology Implementation, Curriculum Planning, and New Teacher Mentor Program Design. Nick is a trained teacher-coach in multiple strategies, including collaborative structures and de-escalation techniques.He lives in Batavia, IL, with his wife and three sons and is a strong proponent of individualized education, of which he has found much success with his students. The school district he has spent most of his career in at the time of this writing is 57% low-income, 62% English learners, and has seen a lot of turnovers, especially regarding administration (5 new principals in the last 12 years). In regards to his district, he says, "We are in a great place now, at least from my perspective. Through all of that turnover and turmoil, I have been able to learn a lot."He has been a new teacher mentor for many teachers throughout the years and continually tries to help teachers develop practical lessons, address classroom behavior issues, and improve their teaching practice in all stages of their careers. In this book, he has put together everything he has found most helpful and hopes it makes a positive change in your classroom and the field of education.
Emily Velazquez is a graphic designer and illustrator, and owner of small business, EV Creative. Currently based in Elgin, IL, Emily has illustrated a children's book, as well as focuses on branding and logo design. EV Creative sells thoughtfully designed stationary, and small lifestyle products as well as handmade items online and in person pop-ups.
Kristina Davis is currently the Superintendent in West Chicago District 33. West Chicago District 33 is a suburban school district situated 30 miles west of Chicago in DuPage County. It serves 4,500 students in grades PreK-8. Although West Chicago D33 is located in the third most affluent county in Illinois, it is over 74 percent low-income. As of 2019, 81 percent of the district's population is Hispanic, with over 54 percent of the students designated as English Language Learners. Over the past 12 years, Kristina has overseen D33's Prek-8th grade curriculum and instructional programs as well as assessment and accountability systems. Kristina's educational career began 20 years ago as the first bilingual teacher in an Illinois farming community of migrant workers. In 2003, she started her administrative career as a principal and district administrator in the third largest district in Illinois. In 2009, she was hired in West Chicago as the Director of Second Language Learning and then assumed the role of Assistant Superintendent. Since then she has been involved in numerous initiatives that have promoted equity and helped to expand programming for a diverse community of learners. She did this through professional development for building administration around systems for improvement that focus on teaming and data-driven action plans at all levels of the organization. She also did this by tailoring programs to meet the needs of the diverse population of learners. More recently, District she was involved in strategic planning as well as successful collective bargaining. She also worked with her team to expand the gifted program to include more students, rolled out full-day kindergarten, and expanded the dual language program district-wide. Over the past couple of years, the expansion of the dual-language program has flourished into an amazing cultural arts program that now boasts a ballet foklórico dance troupe, mariachi band, and student art gallery that is becoming well-known in the area. This has dramatically increased student involvement and parent engagement among families. She supported these growing initiatives through the professional development of staff, and parent and community engagement. She credits the amazing teachers and administrative colleagues that she has worked with and grown from for the success of these initiatives. Kristina has two children, Alexandra and Joshua who have recently graduated from college and are living currently living in St. Charles, Illinois with her husband, Pete, and two dogs.
