Faculty and Staff

Our dedicated teachers assure each student receives individual attention in a friendly, nurturing environment, yet challenge them with a demanding program of the fundamental scholastic disciplines. Faculty members of the Greek department hold appropriate credentials from the Ministry of Education of Greece and are committed to helping our children develop an understanding of their heritage and cultural identity. Our clergy complement the intellectual development of our children with the development of positive moral and ethical values through guidance in their spiritual growth and instruction in the Greek Orthodox faith.

2020-21 Staff

Pastor: Very Reverend Fr. Tom DeMedeiros
Principal: Mrs. Beth Lind
Assistant Principal: Mrs. Laura Grachan
Preschool Lead Teacher: Mrs. Sonia Nikolopoulos
Preschool Teacher: Ms. Shannon Dauksza
Teacher Assistant: Mrs. Eleni Kitsch
Kindergarten: Mrs. Diane Garratt & Mrs. Stacy Vlagos
First Grade: Mrs. Nikoletta Stavrou
Second Grade: Ms. Maria Michalarias
Third Grade: Mrs. Aleka Letsos
Fourth Grade: Ms. Kimberli Conder
Fifth Grade: Mrs. Kat Simmerly, Mr. Chris Barrer, Mr. Mark DelReal
Sixth Grade (ELA): Mr. Chris Barrer
Seventh Grade (SS/SCI): Mr. Peter Collins
Eighth Grade (Math): Mrs. Kathy Ruggiero
Greek/Art/Religion: Presv. Georgia Alikakos
Greek: Mrs. Zoe Koultourides
Greek: Ms. Chryssoula Tsikrika
Greek: Ms. Dimitra Soulioti
Physical Education: MS. Meghan Donahue
Interventionist: Ms. Shannon Dauksza
Instructional Coach: Mrs. Kat Simmerly
Instructional Assistant: Mr. Mark DelReal
Administrative Assistant: Mrs. Despina Lianos

Mrs. Laura Grachan, Assistant Principal
Mrs. Laura Grachan joins the Koraes community for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year. Mrs. Grachan is a retired school administrator from Chicago Ridge school district where she served one year as the associate principal and thirteen years as principal of Finley Junior High. She has served in administrative roles in other districts along with heading up curriculum committees for ELA, mathematics, technology, science, and foreign language. As her schedule allowed, she was an adjunct instructor at Lewis University. As a teacher she has taught abroad in Hauptschule, Realschule, Germany, attended national conferences in Pasadena, California/Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and in Colorado Springs/United States Space Foundation and in Houston, Texas/International Space Station Conference. All of these wonderful experiences have allowed Mrs. Grachan to acquire valuable skills, a global perspective, and a wide range of knowledge regarding people and pedagogy that are necessary for success in supporting children, educators, parents, and the community through a continuous and ambitious growth model.
Throughout her twenty-five years in the field of education she also been active in various professional organizations. Most recently with the Partnership For Resilience and the Metro Chicago Mathematics Institute. She holds professional administrative license, along with endorsements in middle school language arts, social science, general science and biological science.
She is married to her husband Gary who has worked for American Airlines for the past 25 years. She has two grown adult daughters and one grandson. She has been blessed to travel the world to experience the joy of learning about many different cultures and has met so many beautiful people along the way. She is excited to get to know Koraes and our community.