Mrs. Tammy is the owner of STREAM and passionately teaches enrichment, science lab, and math classes here. She enjoys coming up with creative ways to make learning fun. She has taught every grade at private and public schools and enjoys teaching students of every age! She has also been a professor of anatomy and cadaver dissection at a university. Early in her career, Tammy was a forensic pathology assistant and premedical student.

She is passionate about sharing the love of Christ through teaching others about how the Bible's history, science, geography, math and prophecies are true and showing evidences of each to her students.

One of her greatest educational experiences was attending Space Academy and Advanced Space Academy for Educators. Out of this opportunity, she applied to become a NASA astronaut and served the community by starting Astronomy, Rocketry, and Robotics Clubs and volunteering at the local planetarium. She still gives virtual tours of national area museums and zoos for The Creation Trail ministry.

Tammy has a Bachelor’s in Science and a Master’s in Education from the University of Central Oklahoma. She has a wonderful, supportive husband and two adult children who are living life to the fullest! In her spare time, she enjoys sailing, kayaking, and learning to play the hammered dulcimer.

I hesitate to start descriptions of myself as a “wife and mom of three boys” first, because as the years have gone on, I have come to realize that yes, I am those things, but I am also so much more!

I was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and got my Bachelor of Science degree in both Psychology with a Child and Youth Care emphasis and Business Administration. After college, I co-directed a Before and After School Program for Elementary Students. After moving to Illinois in 2005, I worked in preschool before having children of my own and ultimately staying at home to raise and homeschool them. I love the time that we were able to spend as a family but am equally as excited for them to begin their learning journey at STREAM.

If I had to describe myself, I would say that I am an open-minded, caring, understanding person who loves life and all it has to offer. I love talking with people, sharing stories, and I love learning about what makes us all unique. I love spending time with my family and going on adventures together! I have come to enjoy time alone as the years have gone on no matter what that entails- walking, working out, going for a drive, kayaking, bike riding, or just sitting on my front porch drinking coffee. Balance is so important! I think the greatest gift you can give people is the gift of your time and a listening ear. With all the wrongs that we see in the world, I am a true believer that it is such a wonderful and beautiful place filled with amazing people! I believe that learning is an individual journey and that all children have their own path that they take toward achieving their goals. I was inspired by my mother at a young age to use my imagination to draw, paint and create projects. I love seeing children's creativity grow as they learn and experience new things. Growing their confidence and self esteem in what they make from their imagination, is what makes me love teaching so much.

Miss Cat helped me decorate and move in three years ago and has worked here doing anything and everything when she is not off on all her adventures! She is wonderful with all the students: fun, firm, and fabulous! Catt is a senior at U of I majoring in costume design with classes and experience in theater, dance, choreography... she also sings, tutors every subject, and is very artistic and creative! She thinks fast on her feet and can teach an over the top lesson if I give her a spontaneous topic at the last minute. She is always in a joyful mood and cares so much for all our students! I’m blessed to say that she will be teaching summer camps until she goes to London on a internship adventure!

Let me introduce our Language and History teacher, Mrs. Kim Brackett.

I asked for a bio and she wowed me! We are blessed indeed at STREAM! She was singing geography songs with her students today. So fun! They love her!

Welcome Ms. Kim!

I am a Christian, a wife (of 37 years), a mom to six kids ranging in age from 17 to 35, a grandma to six precious grand kids, a foster mom of many years, a teacher, and a seamstress.

I live in North Aurora with my husband, two youngest children and our labradoodle, Bentley. I am blessed to live minutes from our married kids and grand kids; we see them often. We have a bicycle shop, Pedal & Spoke, in North Aurora, which my husband and oldest son manage. I attend Morningstar Community Church in Aurora. I taught children’s classes for many years, and I was the (volunteer) director of Christian Ed at MSCC for 7 years. For the past two years, I’ve led the mid-week children’s program at our church.

My teaching career began in 1985 after I graduated from NIU with a degree and certifications to teach K-8 elementary, and K-12 special education populations. I taught in the East Aurora school district for 5 years, then in 1990, I began homeschooling our daughter. Four years later I opened a small one-room school in our home, and taught students in grades k-12 for twenty years in my little Cottage School. In 2015, I closed my school and focused my teaching efforts mainly on my own children, but I also taught pre-school/pre-K/K to two students several days a week for two years. From 2018 to the present, I teach one day a week at a home school co-op in our town. My subjects at TEC (our co-op) include middle school and high school History and Literature, Personal Finance, Speech, and Health. Last year when we had to stop meeting in person due to the pandemic, I taught my co-op classes via Zoom meetings and we successfully completed all five of the courses I was teaching.

My days are full with homeschooling our youngest daughter, taking care of our foster baby, babysitting my grand kids, and taking care of our home, but in my free time, I enjoy sewing and quilting. I had an Etsy shop for several years and also sold handmade items on Amazon. Now I sew, mostly children’s boutique clothing, for family and friends, and sewing special orders from referrals by friends and family as time allows. I also enjoy cake and cookie decorating, bread-baking, wreath-making, and other crafts. Overall, my strengths include: trusting Jesus, loving people, and being dependable, detail-oriented and organized. I am patient, honest, caring, hard-working, and creative. My weaknesses include saying yes to too many things, perfectionism, overthinking, and being spontaneous.

I am the mother of three and have always been passionate about teaching and expanding my children's education with project based learning.

I am very excited to teach a STREAM and get to share my passion with the children.

Hello, my name is Haley Douglas. I recently graduated from the University of St. Francis with a bachelor’s in Elementary Education and an endorsement in Special Education. I am working towards getting my certificate in Special Education and my endorsement in ESL (English as a Second Language). During my time at the University of St. Francis, I was given the opportunity to complete field experience and practicum hours where I was able to strengthen and develop necessary skills to educate children. Using district curriculum standards, Common Core Mathematics Standards, Social/Emotional Learning Standards and Guided Reading skills I planned and implemented lesson plans that strengthened students understanding of specific content areas. I worked closely with a first-grade team during the pandemic of 2020-2021. Working during a pandemic allowed me to increase my knowledge of virtual teaching and to implement different engaging/interactive activities for students. As a three-year college athlete, I set personal/team goals and improved my communication and leadership skills. Being a team player meant I was able to take constructive criticism from teammates and coaches and write my own positive affirmations to improve my performance as an athlete.

​I would describe myself as someone who has always found joy in helping children and others since I was a young girl. I have always had a passion for teaching. I grew up with great role models who helped shaped me into the person I am today. I think it is important to create a safe space for children to be their authentic selves and enjoy learning at the same time. One of my major targets is mental health. During my internship, I learned a lot about social emotional learning and that it is just as important to check in on children’s mental health as it is with adults. I believe that I can create a positive, hard-working and out-going learning environment for all of my students.

​I enjoy watching movies (Marvel and Star Wars specifically), spending time with my family and fiancé, going on road trips and getting outside as much as I can. I have been bowling since I was 6 years old and my entire family is filled with bowlers. I love sharing stories and pictures of my trips to Alaska. My fiancé and I collect Funko pop figurines (we have over 100 of them). Lastly, I am really big on organization and keeping all of my personal spaces tidy.

I’m over the moon excited about Miss Shelby Anderson, our art instructor, who has put STREAM on the national radar with ou​r STREAM School of Art. She is bubbly and creative with an enthusiasm for the arts. Shelby graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with her Bachelor’s in Fine Arts. One of her favorite classes included scientific illustration at the Field Museum. I t was her dream to go to art school sin​ce she was 5 years old. When she was in grade school, an art teacher motivated her into the arts. Now, she has dedicated her life to encourage a child’s expressive side through all different mediums.

Shelby has a wide range of artistic abilities including painting, ceramics, drawing, creative writing, photography, print media and fiber art. She spent a year in the Disney College Program at Walt Disney World, Florida. Today, she has a background of teaching children and adults in painting.

She currently lives in Wheaton and has an art studio at Water Street Studios in Batavia. Most of her work includes whimsical abstract paintings and surreal towns which have been displayed at the Schoenher Gallery in Naperville.  

 Mrs. Tashy- I am a Beloit, Wi, native, a mother of a six year old daughter and a newborn baby boy. We love to have family game nights traveling to try new restaurants. My junior and senior year of high school I obtained my childcare license and worked as an assistant teacher until I went off to college. I attended college in Jackson, TN, where I participated in dance, cheerleading and track and field. In 2017, I received my BA in criminal justice. I worked for Illinois Department of Corrections for three years. It wasn’t long before my passion for math and children called me back into the classroom. I moved back to my hometown Beloit, WI, to teach math at the middle school level. I’m currently completing my Master’s in Education with STEM emphasis at Grand Canyon University. I love math and it has always been my passion. I was that student who helped all my peers understand math. I still believe that all students learn differently and there’s always more than one way reach the same goal. I’ve taught sixth, seventh, and eighth grade math. I take pride in teaching students math in the most enjoyable way for them while building trust and a great rapport with them. I enjoy coaching dance and track as well. 

Amanda Heinz has been in the education field for over 15 years in various roles and working with children of all ages. She graduated from Illinois State University with her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and student taught 2nd grade both in the United States and in Eastbourne, England. Amanda taught History at Barrington Middle School for a few years then became a Director with Huntington Learning Center, where she tutored elementary, middle, and high school students. Over the past 10 years, she has worked for KinderCare Learning Center in various roles from Center Director to Quality Business Partner. Amanda helped centers with their educational excellence to benefit the educational experience of children ages 6 weeks to 12 years old. She also earned her master’s degree in Early Childhood Administration from National Louis University.

​Amanda lives in Wheaton with her husband, two children Marie and Aiden, and their dog, Lexi. She homeschooled her children this past school year and so grateful to use the opportunity to oversee their education. Amanda is very excited to join the STREAM team and looks forward to getting to know all the children and families!

Mrs. Emily is a wonderful and creative writing and craft teacher. She always executes fun assignments for all the students. She is also a wonderful wife and mother!

 Mr. Dave Hilliard, our family friend, is at STREAM with even more IDEAS!!

He has owned his own marketing business for the last 25 years called IDEAS and taught some classes for us last spring including comics, graphic art, song writing, garage band, creative writing and logo design! In March 2020, he and I collaborated and started STREAMIng IDEAS, inventing educational games for our students. The game boards are gorgeous thanks to his talents! Dave will be teaching classes and tutoring this year.

He has a lovely wife and teen daughter who I get to see often because we are all in the same small group at our church, The Compass.

Meet our sweet, helpful and creative sewing teacher, Mrs. Sandy!

She started teaching classes here last spring and so many kids have made the cutest projects! She teaches classes Monday and Wednesday afternoons at STREAM from 12-3. Happy to have her on board!

Here she is in her own words!

When people think of me, they think of my enthusiasm for sewing. I have a passion for sewing and a love for teaching other people my craft. At home I have a husband and 3 school aged boys. Often you will see my boys and I riding our bikes through the neighborhood. On the weekends we enjoy watching a movie together as a family to wind down our day. I am very thankful for my talent of sewing and having a loving family.

My passion for education began at the tender age of 7, when I realized I wanted to be a teacher. Since my experiences at home included hosting people from nations around the world, my love of language and culture began then, also. It was so rewarding helping the foreign students improve their English. As a university student, I studied bilingual education and obtained a BS in Elementary Education with a concentration in foreign languages, having studied Spanish, French, Arabic and Turkish. I completed my MA in teaching English as a Second Language at U of I, then taught ESL at all levels. I believe in keeping my students fully engaged in their learning by using a natural approach to discovering how to communicate in the new language. For many years I taught Spanish to children using my own curricula which incorporates songs, games and fun activities. It will be my pleasure to share new learning experiences with my new STREAM students!

Mrs. Kati is a local homeschooling Mama, Hair and Makeup Artist and business owner. I started out my career as a makeup artist in theater makeup on the set of a local production of Alice in Wonderland. I studied Art, early childhood education and Special education at Lincoln College before receiving my cosmetology license and opening my own beauty business in 2010. Before I began homeschooling my own children I served at my Church, Vineyard Dupage as a teacher in the Children's ministry.

I am passionate about learning, growing and exploring the world every day. I love to make others laugh and smile and feel happy. I believe sharing kindness is the most important part of our day. I like to reflect the love of Jesus to everyone I meet. Spending time with my children and other children, is the joy of my life. I love to create, dream & play. My hobbies include beautifying spaces and faces, creating, playing with my children, decorating my home, gardening, cooking, scrapbooking, reading, exploring nature, going on field trips, traveling and sharing God's goodness.​

Hello! My name is Jaime Swain. I was born and raised in Arlington Heights, Illinois. I now live in Wheaton with my husband of 16 years, my 3 awesome teenagers and our 2 rescued pups, Lucky and Peanut.

Our family recently discovered STREAM last school year and instantly knew that this was the perfect, welcoming and inclusive environment we wanted our children to be educated in. With some severe language disabilities embedded with in our family’s hereditary, and the flexibility of the vision at STREAM, it was a perfect match for us. Learning hands on, the teachers flexibility, patience, understanding and in a fun environment is a perfect way to for everyone to learn!

In my spare time I enjoy doing anything outside and experiencing new adventures! I love watching my kids fish, roller-skate, and pursuing their black belts with Tae Kwon Do.

I am honored to be a part of this wonderful team here at STREAM and to be surrounded by all of your wonderful kids! If we haven’t met yet, please feel free to come and say, “hello.”