Preschool 3's Aide

alissa.torres@aurorachristian.org

Preschool 4's Teacher

jenny.guio@aurorachristian.org

B.A. Communication Studies – Taylor University (1992)

Mrs. Jenny Guio has taught at ACS for 19 years.  She and her husband have three adult children.  Mrs. Guio enjoys reading, gardening, and a challenging puzzle with family or friends.  She attends Kishwaukee Bible Church in Sycamore, Illinois.

Preschool 4's Teacher

tracie.wimberly@aurorachristian.org

B.S. B.A. HR Management – University of Alabama in Huntsville (2002)

M.A. Human Services/Marriage & Family Counseling – Liberty University (2010)

Tracie and her husband, Robert, have two children, Bianca (a teacher in Kissimmee, Florida) and Josiah (6th grade).  Her passion is serving and helping others and she LOVES music and traveling with her family!  Her goal is to live to reach others for Christ.  Tracie and her family attend Cathedral of Praise in DeKalb, IL. 

Preschool 4's Aide

kristine.hill@aurorachristian.org

This is Mrs. Kristine Hill's first year at ACS Cornerstone. She  was previously a stay at home mom with her two children, Paisli (2nd grade) and Parker (Kindergarten).  Both of them are ACS Cornerstone students. Her hobbies include riding her horse, tending to her farm animals, hiking, reading the Bible and family adventures. 

Kindergarten

julie.bartels@aurorachristian.org

B.A. Elementary Education - Blackburn College (1988)

Mrs. Julie Bartels has been teaching at Cornerstone Christian Academy and ACS Cornerstone for 21 years. Five of those years were in fourth grade and the rest were in Kindergarten.  She has a BA in Elementary Education from Blackburn College.

Mrs. Bartels lives in Sycamore with her  husband Jeff.  They have two children, Jeff and Becca, who are both CCA alumni.  Mrs.Bartels attends Trinity Lutheran church in Genoa.  She leads women's ministry and serves on the church board.

1st Grade

amy.mason@aurorachristian.org

B.A. in Elementary Education - Carthage College (1991)

M.S. Curriculum and Instruction - Concordia University (1997)  

Mrs. Amy Mason is the current 1st grade teacher at Cornerstone.  Before coming to ACS-CS she taught at Hampshire Elementary school for nine years. She has taught at ACS since 2009, starting at preschool and moving up to first grade. Mrs. Mason lives in Dekalb with her husband and two sons. Her sons started attending Cornerstone at age three and have both graduated from the school.  She attends Sycamore United Methodist Church and her hobbies are scrapbooking and camping. 

1st Grade Aide

pam.miller@aurorachristian.org

Mrs. Pam Miller previously worked at Covenant Christian School in Aurora for 22 years as the preschool teacher. She has been at Cornerstone since 2015. She was a foster parent with DCFS for 20 years and has adopted five children. She has a passion for nurturing children. She attends Village Bible Church at Indian Creek.

2nd Grade

jacqueline.soloff@aurorachristian.org

B.S. Elementary Education – Aurora University (2010)

Mrs. Jacqueline Soloff worked for District 129 and has taught in two private schools before coming to Cornerstone in 2020. She admits, second grade is her new favorite grade to teach! She loves to volunteer and has a passion for organizing parties, crafting, and trying new things. She has been married since 2010 and has two children that attend Cornerstone in fourth and second grade. The Soloff family enjoys all activities outdoors and decorates their house for every holiday! They have attended Highpoint Church in North Aurora since moving to Batavia in 2016.

3rd Grade

kerri.blevins@aurorachristian.org

B.A. Early Childhood Education, University of Northwestern-St. Paul (2010)

Mrs. Kerri Blevins has been a teacher since 2010. She enjoys all grade levels, but her passion is for the preschool to third grade levels. She started with Aurora Christian-Cornerstone in 2020 and she absolutely adores her mixed 2nd and 3rd grade classroom. When not at work, Mrs. Blevins spends time with her husband, Lewis, and daughter, Chloe or works out at the kettlebell gym! 

4th Grade

kim.moncrief@aurorachristian.org

B.S. Elementary Education - University of Phoenix (2012)

Mrs. Kim Moncrief feels blessed to have been able to stay home with her children when they were young. During this time, she operated her own daycare and preschool from home. Other previous positions include a private preschool teacher and an online ESL/English teacher. Mrs. Moncrief lives in Cortland with her husband and her three children, A.J., Lucas, and Aubrey.

5th Grade

trisha.gonzalez@aurorachristian.org

B.S. Elementary Education - Northern Illinois University (2004)

Mrs. Trisha Gonzalez is the fifth grade homeroom teacher.  She teaches  4th and 5th Grade Reading, Grammar, Writing, Spelling, 5th Grade Bible, and 5th Grade History.  She has been at Cornerstone since 2004. Mrs. Gonzalez enjoys reading a good book and sharing stories with her students. She lives in DeKalb with her husband Javier and their daughter Esperanza, who is an elementary student at ACS- CS.  

Library/Tech

donna.high@aurorachristian.org

Library Technical Assistant - College of DuPage

B.A. English - Medieval Concentration – Northern Illinois University (2011) 

M.A. Certificate Children's and Young Adult Literature and Media – Northern Illinois University (2014) 

Mrs. Donna High has been at Cornerstone since 2012; first as assistant to the librarian, then as the librarian since 2014. Before coming to Cornerstone, she had homeschooled her seven children for 25 years. She has two grandchildren, one who attends ACS Cornerstone. She has a passion for finding the right book for every reader and the Dewey Decimal System! Charlotte's Web is her favorite children's book. She enjoys traveling and has visited nine countries on three continents outside the U.S. in the last ten years. Her favorite travels include: a month-long study abroad experience at Oxford, England, and a mission trip to Chad, Africa.

Spanish

nico.ticona@aurorachristian.org

B.A. Bible, Moody Bible Institute (2006)

Mr. Ticona has started teaching Spanish at ACS Cornerstone campus in 2021.  He is the teacher for Kindergarten-8th grade.  Mr. Ticona was born in Tacna, Peru, South America, and loves to teach his native language, Spanish!  Mr. Ticona also serves as a pastor with Village Bible Church.  He works with the Spanish-speaking campus, El Camino, in Aurora, IL.  He lives in Wasco with his wife, Stacie and four children.  In his free time, he enjoys going on mission trips, and spending time with his family and church. 

Music

gail.high@aurorachristian.org

B.A. Music Education and French Horn Performance, Augustana College

Mrs. Gail High taught in the public schools for seven years before coming to Cornerstone. She loves teaching music through singing, listening, composing, dancing, playing instruments, and more! She wants to share God's gift of music while encouraging students to love Jesus too! Mrs. High is a performer and is part of the worship team at church, plays French Horn with the Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and also teaches piano lessons. In her spare time, she enjoys fishing, camping, and being with friends. She lives in DeKalb with her husband (James),  daughter (Joanna) and their dog Slim. They attend First Baptist Church in Sycamore.

Band Director

B.A. Music Education - Augustana College (1997) 

M.M. Music Education - University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (2003)

Mrs. Anne Hauser has been a member of the Aurora Christian School faculty since 2005.  Mrs. Hauser was born and raised in Menomonee Falls, WI.  She taught 7-12 band in the Edgewood-Colesburg, IA school district for one year before heading home to teach.  Mrs. Hauser taught seven years for the Lutheran High School Association of Greater Milwaukee in the elementary band program.  While at Aurora Christian, she has coordinated the High School Band for the IL/WI ACSI Music Festival.  Outside of school, Mrs. Hauser is a member of the Fox Valley Concert Band.  She lives in Aurora with her husband, Jonathan, and daughters, Rachel and Rebekah.  She attends Immanuel Lutheran in Batavia.

P.E.

stephanie.rose@aurorachristian.org

B.A. Psychology - Northern Illinois University (2010)

Mrs. Stephanie Rose is the Physical Education teacher.  She started in 2020 as Mrs. Guio's preK aide.  She has a passion for physical health and helping kids find ways to be healthy and active. In her spare time she loves to workout doing weight lifting, running,  Zumba and yoga. She also has a passion for helping individuals with disabilities, mental illness and special needs.  She is married to Scott Rose and has two sons Zach and Ian.  Her oldest son Zach is in the Navy stationed in San Diego.  Her younger son Ian attends school  at ACS Cornerstone.  She attends church at Glad Tidings in DeKalb. 

Art/Middle School Bible

rhonda.cantrell@aurorachristian.org

B.A., Educational Studies- Western Governors University, (2016)

Mrs. Rhonda Cantrell is the art teacher for kindergarten through 8th grade. She has been teaching at the Cornerstone campus since 2000. Mrs. Cantrell is married to Brian. She has two adult children and two grandchildren. She has a passion for sharing the gospel with students through serving in kids and youth ministry at her church, Christ Community Church-DeKalb Campus. Mrs. Cantrell enjoys reading, gardening, and all types of art projects.

MS History/MS English

penny.hanania@aurorachristian.org

Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education from Olivet Nazarene University, 1995

Masters of Arts in Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Olivet Nazarene University, 2000

ACSI Lifetime Certification

Mrs. Penny Hanania is from a small town in East Central Illinois and a graduate of Olivet Nazarene University.  She joined the Cornerstone staff in 2015 as a history teacher.  At the beginning of her career she taught public school for 6 years and then transitioned into Christian education.  She was the Jr. High Department Chair and a teacher at Medinah Christian School in Medinah, Illinois, for ten years until the school closed in 2015.  She finds it a true privilege to be able to live out her faith in the classroom.  She and her husband, David, reside in Batavia and attend Bethlehem Lutheran Church, in St. Charles.  They enjoy all kinds of sporting and entertainment events, travel, and trying new restaurants.

MS Family Science

stephanie.hinsch@aurorachristian.org

B.S. Science, Geology- Northern Illinois University (2009)

B.S. Science, Anthropology - Northern Illinois University (2011)

Mrs. Stephanie Hinsch has been at Cornerstone since 2021. Previously, she worked as an environmental consultant for several years before transitioning to being a stay at home mom and finding her passion in the art of home living. She and her husband, Peter, have two children that currently attend ACS Cornerstone (2nd and 3rd grade). Stephanie and her family are members at the DeKalb Church of Christ. She and her husband have led several small groups and currently lead worship. Some of her passions are making memories with her family, studying the Bible with people, hosting dinner parties, and decorating

MS Science

natalie.kaczor@aurorachristian.org

B.S. Biology Teaching and Sciences 5-12

St Cloud State University

Mrs. Natalie Kaczor is coming to ACS Cornerstone to teach Earth Science, Life Science and Physical Science to our middle schoolers, as well as Physical Education to our preschool through eighth grade students.  Previously, Mrs. Kaczor taught the sciences and coached girls basketball at Buffalo High School in Minnesota before transitioning to serve her family as a stay at home mom.  In addition to serving at home, she has spent the past 5 years teaching both traditional bootcamp, and family bootcamp at the Kishwaukee YMCA.  She is very excited to teach the sciences from a biblical worldview, and is passionate about motivating others to have an active lifestyle.  Outside of school Mrs. Kaczor loves to watch and play sports, enjoy outdoor activities, exercise, and learn more about the world around her.   She and her husband are happily raising their four daughters on a small 5 acre hobby farm outside of Sycamore.  They attend Christ Community Church in Dekalb.  

MS English/ STEAM+

byrle.lauriat@aurora.christian.org

B.A. English - Connecticut College (1976)

M.R.E. Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (1978)

 
Mrs. Byrle Lauriat teaches middle school English/Language Arts and Algebra 1 at Cornerstone. In August 1988, she began teaching at DeKalb Christian School (now Cornerstone). She has taught there for a total of 26 years in middle school and 7 years in CCA’s high school. When she is not at school, Mrs. Lauriat and her husband, Dave, live in DeKalb and attend Bethany Road Bible Church, where Dave is an elder. She serves in children’s ministry and women’s Bible study and helps lead a home group. She and her husband have three adult children and four grandchildren