With the school year in full swing, SK and first-grade classrooms are filled with the bustle of kids at play. What these young students don’t see are the changes the lower school underwent this summer. The departure of Junior Kindergarten teacher Johanna Davis and temporary absence of Junior Kindergarten teacher Lisa Nielsen due to a sabbatical left gaps in the lower school. Senior Kindergarten teacher Dana O’Brien is filling the JK spot temporarily and first-grade teacher Tisha Johnson has taken Davis’ spot permanently, leaving two openings in SK and first grade.

Rose Coll is filling the lead teaching spot in Senior Kindergarten until Nielsen’s return next year. Coll has been a teacher for her entire working life, starting at Parker as an assistant in Kirkland LaRue’s SK class. “Though I am devastated to see her go, I am glad that she is only across the hallway and doing great things,” LaRue said.

Born in Miami FL., Coll moved to Baltimore when she was four years old. “I tell people I’m from Baltimore … because it is where I spent ages four through college,” Coll explained. In Baltimore, Coll attended a K-12 independent, progressive day school called The Park School of Baltimore, which she considers to be quite similar to Parker. “It’s a really tight-knit community there, which I learned as soon as I got to Parker it is here as well,” Coll said.

After The Park School, Coll attended Lake Forest College in Lake Forest, Il., where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education and English Literature and her Master of Arts in Teaching. She played basketball all four years of college, which she still enjoys watching and playing today.

Because both of her parents were teachers, Coll has known from a young age that she wanted to be a teacher. “I’ve pretty much wanted to be a teacher since I was little,” Coll said, “I have great, fond memories of kindergarten and that makes me want to make sure that my current kindergarteners have great memories of kindergarten.,”

In her free time, Coll enjoys cooking, reading psychological thriller books, and watching and playing sports. Because she is filling this spot temporarily, Coll is unsure of her teaching plans for next year, though she says she is excited for this year. “Right now my plans for next year are a big question mark,” Coll said, “but having this year as a lead teacher is such a great experience.”

Elizabeth Joebgen has filled the lead teacher spot in first grade. Joebgen is new to Parker, previously teaching fourth, second, and first grades for 16 years at North Elementary School in Villa Park, Illinois. Joebgen was born in the south suburbs of Chicago where she lived until high school, when she moved to Champaign, Il. Joebgen attended Illinois State University, where she received her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and Teaching, as well as Spanish. She also attended Concordia University where she earned her Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction. She is certified in Language Arts, Social Studies, Spanish, and English as a Second Language.

From a young age, Joebgen also knew she wanted to be a teacher. She said, “I just knew … that I loved school.” Joebgen started teaching by fourth grade, but after a friend convinced her to try teaching first grade, Joebgen said, “I can’t imagine teaching anything else. The kids are excited about everything!”

Joebgen says she has good memories of elementary school and wants to help create good memories for her students as well. She said, “Also, I feel incredibly supported just in the amount of resources available.” Joebgen hopes to find opportunities to collaborate with older students, something not as possible at her previous school.

In her free time, Joebgen enjoys watching documentaries, cooking, knitting, hand lettering, and spending time with her three-year-old niece and nephew. Joebgen believes that having passions outside of school is important, and they help her come to school with a fresh mind ready to teach.

Joebgen joins Alexandra Bearman, who is in her second year as a lead teacher in the first grade, and Beverly “Greenie” Greenberg, who has been teaching at Parker for over forty years.

Both Coll and Joebgen are excited to be lead teachers at Parker and are looking forward to the rest of the year.