RTHS parents meet new staff at

Monday’s annual Open House

ROCHELLE----New members of the RTHS staff come to Rochelle with experiences and interests as varied as the coursework they will teach.

They include Dr. Elizabeth Freeman is the district’s very first curriculum director. Betheny DuFoe is among 3 new members of the Physical Education staff along with Sam Knaack and Russel Vanderhayden, a part time PE and part time Driver Education teacher. Nathan Underwood has joined the staff as a counselor. Aaron Matheson teaches intro to Chemistry. Erick Olson is a drivers’ education instructor. Other new staff members include Ida Rangel, receptionist and Mary Arne is a classroom aide. Teaching the district’s Life Skills classes are Penny Thomas and Susan Hoffman.

DR. LIZ FREEMAN is an interesting woman, who brings to Rochelle a long list of accomplishments and a diverse list of interests.

A product of McHenry County, Freeman did her undergraduate work at Northern Illinois University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in French Language and Literature in 1995, the spring before which she studied abroad in Aix-en-Provence, France.

She joined the staff of the Abbott Accelerated Middle School in Waukegan where she taught French through 1999. It was during that time Freeman worked towards and received a Masters of Education in Interdisciplinary Studies in Curriculum and Instruction from National-Lewis University, Evanston.

From the middle school, Freeman moved to Richmond-Burton High School in Richmond where she taught French 1-4, plus an Advanced Placement class. Freeman’s enthusiasm and skill in the classroom allowed her to triple enrollment in the French program that now has 2 fulltime French instructors. At Richmond-Burton, Freeman also served as a faculty mentor, a club sponsor and a varsity coach while working towards her Doctorate of Education in Curriculum and Instruction which she obtained from Loyola University, Chicago in May 2005.

“I loved teaching and my contact with all kinds of students,” Freeman said. “The schools in which I have taught have diverse populations: accelerated, at-risk and bi-lingual students. I think maybe that sparked my interest in curriculum, my need to affect more students by determining what and how they learn.”

Freeman grew up in Algonquin, but is familiar with Rochelle. It was a stopping point during long family trips to visit relatives in the Rock Falls-Sterling area. “We (kids) would stretch out in the back of the station wagon on our sleeping bags with books to keep us entertained, and we always stopped in Rochelle to stretch our legs before completing the second half of the drive.”

An avid gardener and wake boarder, Freeman opted for reigns over car keys when her 16^th birthday came around.

“I didn’t buy a car, but bought my quarter horse instead. She’s still with me incidentally, and we still ride together English style.”

Freeman said she looks forward to collaboration with the administration and faculty both at RTHS and with the elementary feeder schools.

BETHENY DUFOE is a physical education, aerobics and dance teacher at RTHS. She’s a graduate of Northern Illinois University, having graduated in May. This is her first teaching position.

DuFoe said she was drawn to Rochelle Township High School because of its fitness based physical education curriculum and the Healthy Hubs Initiative.

In her spare time, DuFoe enjoys running and playing Bass guitar.

NATHAN UNDERWOOD is a new high school counselor. He grew up in central Wisconsin near Wausau and moved to Prairie du Chien in southwest WI when he was 13. He completed his undergraduate degree at University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire and was a grad student at UW Platteville.

Since graduating from UW Platteville’s school counseling program in 2003, Underwood has worked as a social worker with clients who suffered from severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

He did a stint in South Korea teaching English and last year, Underwood was a fulltime student in Northern Illinois University’s Ed.D. Counselor Education program while working at Focus House.

So, what drew Underwood to RTHS? “I was very impressed during my interview with Mr. Craven and the counseling staff. They’re student focused, intent on improving the school experience for their students.

“And besides,” he said, “the small town atmosphere reminds me of home.”

When time permits, Underwood enjoys kayaking/canoeing, bike riding, movies, music, travel and local sight seeing.

‘When time permits’ is the key phrase. According to Underwood, “Days in the counseling department are very, very busy, particularly at the beginning of a semester. Students literally file in one after the other. I find myself sitting at my computer for hours at a time. One day my leg fell asleep because I was unable to move around. It took nearly ten minutes before I was able to walk.”

AARON MATHESON comes to RTHS from Bloomington High School where he taught science and coached last year. At RTHS, Matheson will teach Chemistry, Intro to Chemistry or Chem Com. He is the assistant girl’s varsity basketball coach and in the springtime will coach track.

What brought Matheson to Rochelle? “My best friend in college graduated from Rochelle in 1999, Brandon Weber. I lived with him for 3 years while we were in school,” Matheson said. “Everything Brandon told me about RTHS was positive and encouraging, including the fact that the RTHS faculty boasts quite a few Millikin University graduates.”

Matheson is engaged to be married to a Genoa-Kingston Middle School PE teacher/track and cheer coach.

Matheson is currently training to compete in his second marathon.

SAM KNAACK is another new member of the PE staff, teaching weight training, freshman PE and team sports. Knaack has a lifetime of experience with team sports as he played high school and college baseball, first at Kish and then at Clarke College. He was a catcher, incidentally. After college he coached baseball at Rockford East, Highland Community College, at Kish, and currently coaches the Rockford River Hawks.

Married, Knaack and wife Susan have a 3 year old son named Will and a daughter, Casey, who is about to turn two years old.

In his spare time, Knaack enjoys….”Spare time?” He repeated with a smile. “Between teaching, coaching and parenting, there is not a lot of that!”

RUSSELL VANDERHEYDEN, a the third new member of the RTHS Phys Ed staff, walks the halls of RTHS as a teacher, coach and former opponent. Vanderheyden, RTHS wrestling fans may remember, is Hononegah’s All American, 2-time state place winner, a 4-time state tourney qualifier. Oh, and he did all of that in 4 different weight classes. “I grew a lot in high school,” the affable coach admitted. “I wrestled at 119, 140, 160 and 171 lbs. in high school.” Afterwards, he accepted Central Michigan University’s offer of an athletic scholarship because it was a Top 10, Division 1 program, from which he graduated after completing a student teaching position in O’Fallon IL last spring.

While at college, Vanderheyden met his future wife, from whom he was separated last year as he student taught in southern Illinois and as she coached soccer at Toledo University.

“She’s a marketing and sports administration major,” he said, “and so we looked at school districts in Michigan, Illinois and Ohio. Rochelle seemed the best opportunity for us. I like this school district and community. The region offers my wife a lot of options.”

Vanderheyden smiled when he mentioned his wife….”it’s only just been six weeks (since they married) and because we were apart for a whole year, we spend all of our spare time together, biking, playing tennis or hiking with our dog, Hogan.”

When Vanderheyden was hired at RTHS, the Athletic office got a call from Hononegah wrestling coach Marty Kaiser. “We worked it out so that although we’ve changed conferences, Rochelle will face Hononegah during wrestling season. It’s gonna be a lot of fun; the first time Coach Kaiser has coached against one of his former students.”

ERICK OLSON is the school’s new driver education teacher. He supervises the behind-the–wheel program, is a freshman football coach and an assistant wrestling coach.

A native of Bourbonnais, Olson is also a graduate of Millikin University. He comes to RTHS from a job at South Fork High School in Kincaid where he taught physical education, driver education, was the head football coach and the athletic director.

Olson and his wife have been married for 14 months.

IDA RANGEL is the school’s new receptionist. She is the mother of two high school students: Lisa Marie and Erica Huerta.

Rangel is originally from Texas. She’s lived in Rochelle, since 1974. She worked for the Rock River Training Corporation in Rockford and accepted the RTHS position because, “I like the atmosphere here. RTHS has a lot of wonderful people to work with.”

When she’s not working, Rangel loves to travel. Her hobbies are gardening, decorating, and home improvements.

MARY T. ARNE is a classroom aide/receptionist who has recently returned to the fulltime workforce after 17years as a stay-at-home mother. “I worked part time in floral shops during holidays and did a lot of volunteer work,” she said. “And last year, I went to work part time in the high school cafeteria. I really enjoy the atmosphere here, the high energy level of this place and its students.”

Married and the mother of three, including son Nels, an RTHS freshman, Arne is also grandmother to three girls. Her hobbies and interests are varied and include decorating and floral design, reading, visiting skate parks and ticking off a list of challenges created with girlfriends designed to, “keep us young; trying new things.”