Here is where will be stored information regarding
Al Raby High School and the 40th Anniversary of
Chicago Freedom Summer.

Faculty & Staff
The staff of the Al Raby School is made up of well-educated and committed individuals who care, not just about test scores or their own success, but about the students they teach.

Administration
Name: Email:

• Janice Jackson

Principal jkjackson@cps.k12.il.us

• Jim Schwartz

Lead Teacher jtschwartz@cps.k12.il.us
Susan James
Clerk smjames@cps.k12.il.us
Randy Twilley
Counselor rdtwilley@cps.k12.il.us
Faculty
Lori Birenberg
American literature, Sophomore team leader misslorib_raby@sbcglobal.net
Errol Brice
Physical Education
Darryl Brown
Algebra
Tricia Colsant
World studies, Freshman team leader tdshepard@cps.k12.il.us
Shanka Falls
Music
Dan Giddings
Geometry giddin13@msu.edu
Tamara Hagen
GIS 2 tamara.hagen@sbcglobal.net
Connie Lee
Environmental science
D. Anthony Love
Survey of literature teacher1906@yahoo.com
Sue Nelson
Biology k96sn01@yahoo.com
Thomas O’Brien
US history tarden2@yahoo.com
Brian Pearson
Special education bpearson19@ameritech.net
Catina Simms
Case Manager
Shauntai Taylor
Health & driver’s ed
Stacy Wright
Reading sdw0867@sbcglobal.net
Sarah Youmans
GIS 1 youmans1@msu.edu

Biographies

Janice Jackson, Principal
Ms. J. Jackson is the principal of the Al Raby School. Previously, she taught social studies at South Shore High School for four years. During the final three years, she worked in the Small School of Entrepreneurship. She is a graduate of Chicago State University with a major in secondary education with a concentration in history. She has also earned a Masters in History from Chicago State University and a Masters in Leadership and Administration from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Jim Schwartz, Lead teacher
Mr. Schwartz is the lead teacher at the Raby School. Previously, he taught at South Shore High School in the general program and in the Small School of Entrepreneurship. Before that, Mr. Schwartz worked as an Information Technology consultant for a variety of high-tech companies. He holds a Bachelors’ degree in geology, integrated science, and history from Northwestern University and a Masters’ degree in teaching from National-Louis University. Mr. Schwartz also coaches the cross country and math teams.

Susan James, Clerk
Mrs. S. James is the business & office manager, payroll clerk, admissions coordinator, and principal’s secretary at Al Raby School. She has been employed with CPS for over 19 years and has worked as a homeless liaison, teachers’ assistant, program officer, student enrollment coordinator, attendance & office aide, aptitude test proctor, and lunch application processor.

Randy Twilley, Counselor
Mr. Twilley is an enthusiastic high school guidance counselor with a Master of Arts degree from the Department of Psychology at Chicago State University. He completed 69 graduate hours of course work in the field of Human Growth and Development, Assessment Techniques, Research and Evaluation, Educational and Career Planning, and Professional Ethics relative to the State of Illinois School Service Personnel Certification (Type 73, K-12). He has a strong academic background, an empathetic approach with children, parents, and staff members, and a personal commitment to using the skills and knowlege in counseling to the best of his ability.

Lori Birenberg, English
Ms. Birenberg teaches English I at Raby. She has been teaching in Chicago for sixteen years. She loves connecting literature to the lives of her students, and she especially enjoys teaching poetry and creative writing. Ms. Birenberg graduated from Indiana University with a double major in English and Communications. She completed her certification work at DePaul and her Master’s degree at National-Louis University. In her spare time, she enjoys working out, reading, watching movies, and screamimg at the television to cheer on her favorite teams.

Errol Brice, Physical Education
Mr. Brice is the physical education and health teacher at the Raby School. He also coaches basketball, volleyball, and track.

Darryl Brown, Algebra
Mr. Brown is the algebra teacher and programmer at the Raby School. He formerly was a teacher and programmer at Kelvyn Park, Manley, and other Chicago Public Schools.

Tricia Colsant, World studies
Mrs. Colsant teaches World Studies at Raby. She has been teaching in Chicago Public Schools for 12 years, including 9 here at the original Flower High School. She loves connecting history to current events and the students’ own lives. Mrs. Colsant graduated from the University of Chicago in Hyde Park, where she received a BA in United States History with a minor in European History and played all 4 years on the women’s Basketball team. Through the Teachers for Chicago program she obtained her certification for teaching and a Masters of Science in Education from Chicago State University. Mrs. Colsant looks forward to coaching the girls this year in basketball, starting the Academic Decathlon team, and building a Close-Up Washington program at the school. In her spare time, she likes to travel, workout, read, do photography, and scrapbook. Mrs. Colsant is married with 2 beautiful pugs she calls her children.

Shanka Falls, Music
Ms. Falls is the music teacher at Al Raby School and is in charge of Sounds of Al Raby, the school choir. She is a graduate of the University of Illinois at at Urbana-Champaign and is a classically trained vocalist.

Dan Giddings, Geometry
Mr. Giddings teaches geometry at Al Raby. This is his first year teaching in Chicago Public Schools. He recently graduated from Michigan State University with a certification in mathematics and chemistry. This year, Mr. Giddings will be the freshman boy’s basketball coach in the winter and help out with softball, baseball, or tennis in the spring. In his spare time, Mr. Giddings is an avid sports fan, enjoys going to the movies, and will be married to the lovely Ms. Youmans next July.

Tamara Hagen, Geographic Information Systems 2 (GIS 2)

Connie Lee, Environmental science
Ms. Lee is the environmental science teacher at Raby. She graduated with a B.S. in Biology from UIC and is a graduate student at National-Louis University.

D. Anthony Love, Survey of literature
Mr. Love teaches English at Al Raby High School. Previously, he taught at Brown Academy. Mr. Love attended Lindblom Technical High School. He holds a degree in English from Morehouse College and M.A. degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Concordia University.

Sue Nelson, Biology
Ms. Nelson teachers Biology I at Raby. This is her 4th year teaching in Chicago Public Schools, the first three of which were at Farragut Career Academy. She graduated from Kalamazoo College in Michigan with a major in Biology and a minor in Sociology. She also earned her Master of Arts in Teaching from National Louis University in Chicago. She is excited to be co-coaching Cross Country in the fall and Track and Field in the spring. In her spare time she likes to train for marathons, read, and spend time outside.

Thomas O’Brien, World studies
Mr. O’Brien teaches World Studies at the Al Raby School. Before coming to Al Raby he taught World Studies, Civics, African American History and U.S. History at Tilden Community Career Academy and Calumet Career Prep. Academy. Prior to teaching, he worked as a tenant organizer for nonprofit organizations in Boston and Dallas. This year Mr. O’Brien will also be helping to coach the Debate Team.

Brian Pearson, Specialized services

Catina Simms, Case Manager
Ms. Simms teaches special education as part of the inclusion program at the Raby School. She has been teaching for seven years and was most recently a teacher in the special education program at South Shore High School.

Shauntai Taylor, Health & Drivers ed
Ms. Taylor is the Health/Drivers Education teacher at Raby. This is her second year teaching, this is her first year teaching at ARS. She is a graduate of Southern Illinois University in the spring of 2004 and currently attending graduate school at Northern Illinois University. She is very excited about be given the opportunity to play an active role in the education of the students at Raby. She love teaching and attaining knowledge that will allow her to grow as an individual and to open students minds to new horizons.

Stacy Wright, Reading
Miss Wright teaches reading at the Al Raby School and has been a teacher for CPS for 13 years. Previously, she taught at McCorkle Fine Arts Academy for six years in which she served as the upper grade English/Language Arts teacher, chairperson of the Literacy Committee and spearheaded many reading intiatives at McCorkle F.A.A. In addition to her longevity with CPS Miss Wright worked as an adjunct instructor at Chicago State University and as a diagnostician in the unversitiy’s reading improvement program. Currently, she is a consultant for the Chicago Area Reading and Writing Project sponsored by Roosevelt University. During the 2003–04 school year Miss Wright completed National Board Certification Candidacy in English/Language Arts. Miss Wright holds a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing Communications from Columbia College and a Master of Science in Education from Chicago State University.

Sarah Youmans, Geographic Information Systems 1 (GIS 1)
Ms. Youmans teaches Geographic Information Systems (GIS) at Al Raby High School. This is her first year teaching at Chicago Public Schools. She recently graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in social relations and a minor in English. She is certified in the social sciences and English as well. Ms. Youmans is the cheerleading coach at Al Raby (for both football and basketball seasons). In her spare time she enjoys playing with her dog Ernie, her family and friends, running, reading, and spending time with her wonderful fiancé Mr. Giddings whom she will be marrying this July.

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