Preschool 3's Aide

Preschool 4's Teacher

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 Christ Community Church - DeKalb campus. 

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

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, teaching 3rd grade. When not at work, Mrs. Blevins spends time with her husband, Lewis, and daughter, Chloe or works out at the kettlebell gym! 

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.

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. 

2nd Grade

tara.kazda@aurorachristian.org

B.A. Art History Northern Illinois University 2001

M.L.I.S Dominican University 2004

Mrs. Kazda has worked in public libraries for 24 years with 19 of those as a Youth Services librarian in Algonquin. When not working, she loves spending time with her family, collecting recipes (that she says she probably won't ever make Smiling Face ), walking her dog Bandit, reading, camping and spending time outside.  She and her family love road trips and they head to Northern Wisconsin for clean air and bright skies whenever they can. Mrs. Kazda and her husband, Charlie live in Sycamore and attend Bethany Road Bible Church in DeKalb. They have two children, Avarie (3rd) and Archer (1st)  who attend ACS Cornerstone. 

3rd Grade Teacher

dusty.beam@aurorachristian.org

B.S. in Business Management

M.S. in Organizational Leadership and Strategy

Mr. Beam is the current 3rd grade teacher at ACS Cornerstone. Prior to coming to ASC-CS he spent the 2022-2023 school year as an elementary building substitute teacher in Dekalb (D428). After a 22 year career in the United States Army he decided to retire and pursue his dream of becoming an elementary school teacher. Mr. Beam lives with his wife and family in Sycamore, Illinois. When not at work, he enjoys checking items off his “honey-do list”, watching and playing sports, spending time with his family and training his dogs. Mr. Beam attends Christ Community Church in Dekalb and is currently pursuing a second Masters degree in Elementary Education. 

4th Grade

kim.moncrief@aurorachristian.org

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

Mrs. Moncrief has been teaching at Cornerstone since 2020. She is the fourth grade homeroom teacher. She teaches 4th grade Bible, History, Science and Math, as well as 5th grade Math and Science. She and her husband Matt have three children. Mrs. Moncrief and her husband are members at First Baptist Church in Aurora. She loves to travel and spend time with her children, nieces and nephews.

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.  

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 Science/STEAM

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

Middle School English/Math

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

Spanish/Middle School Bible

rodrigo.azofeifa@aurorachristian.org

DMin Organizational Leadership and Preaching - Asbury Seminary (2019) MDiv Wesley Seminary - Indiana Wesleyan University (2011) BTh Logos Christian University (2011)

Dr. Rodrigo Azofeifa joined Aurora Christian Schools in 2019. He currently teaches Pre-K/5th grade Spanish. Before he joined ACS, Dr. Azofeifa has taught Spanish every grade level from K-12 at Cornerstone Christian Academy (CCA) in Sycamore, IL, since 2003. Mr. Azofeifa is an Adjunct Faculty member at Indiana Wesleyan University- Global Academic Program and for Wesley Seminar. Rev. Azofeifa and his wife, Ricci, live in Malta, IL, and serve as lead Pastor at Real Connection Church in DeKalb, IL. They are blessed with their two sons, Jeremy and Josue.

Resource Teacher

shelly.wiegartz@aurorachristian.org

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.

Art

rhonda.cantrell@aurorachristian.org

B.A., Educational Studies- Western Governors University

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.

Music

ruth.simon@aurorachristian.org

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.