CI Alumni Accomplishments

Maria Burgos
Maria Burgos

Congratulations to these graduates of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction!

Maria Burgos, M.S.Ed. Curriculum and Instruction, ’05, was named executive director of Pre-Kindergarten through Fifth Grade Educational Services for Valley View School District 365U. Burgos previously served as assistant superintendent for Student Services at Cicero School District 99. Her prior roles include the principalship of the McKinley Educational Center and the assistant principalship of Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School, both in Cicero.

Jason H. Gold
Jason H. Gold

Jason H. Gold, B.S.Ed. Elementary Education, ’05, is the new principal of Fox Meadow Elementary School in South Elgin. Gold, who has worked in education for 14 years as a teacher and administrator, had served since 2016 as principal of Komarek Elementary School in District 94. He previously was coordinator of ELA and Math Initiatives & Teacher/Principal Retention and Development in Lyons School District 103 and as an assistant principal and Gifted and Talented coordinator in Oak Park School District 97. Gold began his education career as a math teacher Cary School District 26.

Debbie Lubeck
Debbie Lubeck

Debbie Lubeck, M.S.Ed. Special Education, ’00, and M.S.Ed. Curriculum and Instruction, ’03, began a new role July 1 as director of Student Services in River Forest School District 90. She previously served as director of Special Education in Pleasantdale School District 107, director of Curriculum for Lyons District 103 and director of Support Programs and administrator of Student Service in Glenview District 34. Lubeck is also an adjunct instructor at Concordia University and National Louis University.

Ann Mortimer
Ann Mortimer

Ann Mortimer, B.S.Ed. Elementary Education, ’88, and M.S.Ed. Elementary Education, ’95, is the new kindergarten teacher at Clarke Elementary School in Osceola, Iowa. Now in her 13th year of teaching, Mortimer moved to the Clarke School District from Arizona in May.

Renee Payne
Renee Payne

Renee Payne, B.S.Ed. Elementary Education, ’81, was named assistant superintendent of schools for the Catholic Diocese of Rockford. She previously was head of school and principal at All Saints Catholic Academy in Rockford. Prior roles included serving as principal of St. James School from 2019 to 2019 and as principal at St. James and St. Bernadette in their combined administration from 2017 to 2018.

Griselda Pirtle
Griselda Pirtle

Griselda Pirtle, M.S.Ed. Literacy Education-ESL/Bilingual Education, ’09, was named director of English Language Learners for Elgin School District U-46. She had served since 2014 as director of Multilingual Programs for Elk Grove Village Community Consolidated School District 59, where she launched the country’s first nationally recognized program in Polish Dual Language. Pirtle also has been an adjunct professor at Judson University.

Nicole Poynton
Nicole Poynton

Nicole Poynton, B.S.Ed. Elementary Education, ’05, was hired as assistant principal of Old Post Elementary School in Oswego School District 308. Poynton previously worked for Plainfield School District 202 as a Transitional Bilingual Education/Transitional Program of Instruction teacher, as well as an administrator for the English Learners remote learning summer school program. Before joining District 202, she worked as a bilingual second-grade teacher in Cicero School District 99.

Christi Sosin
Christi Sosin

Christi Sosin, B.S.Ed. Elementary Education, ’96, and M.S.Ed. Literacy Education-Reading, ’04, was named principal of Mary Endres Elementary School in Woodstock Community Unit School District 200. Sosin spent most of her career in Schaumburg District 54 as a literacy coach and most recently as an assistant principal there for the past seven years.

If you’re a College of Education grad with news to share, please let us know – and send a photo! Our email address is ceduEdNews@niu.edu.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email