The 2020-2021 school year will mark my 12th year as a creative drama teacher in District 65 at Chute Middle School. I received my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from the University of the Arts and a M.A.T in Secondary Education with endorsements in Theatre Arts, Middle School Language Arts and High School English from National-Louis University. Performance experiences include working alongside The University of Detroit at Mercy while touring in Greece, performing with IO Theatre, and working in Los Angeles behind the scenes in reality television. In 2015, I was awarded the National Artist Teaching Fellowship which gave me the opportunity to travel to Belfast and London and work alongside The Cardboard Citizens. I love to cook, dance, and am the proud mama to Olive and Zoe and our two dogs, Finley and Ernie.
Ms. Mariah Keko been working for District 65 since 2013; she teaches at both Chute and Haven Middle Schools. Ms. Keko received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Education with endorsements in Language Arts and Speech/Communications from Drake University, and her MFA in Theatre for Youth from Arizona State University. In addition to District 65, Ms. Keko has also taught at Rowe Elementary in Chicago, and Valley High School in Las Vegas, Nevada. In 2008, Ms. Keko received a Distinguished Graduate Teaching Award for instruction excellence at Arizona State. Ms. Keko loves being outside with her family; during the summer she can often be found at one of the Evanston beaches.