Academics

Carolyn Scaccia
Retired Elementary Teacher, Forrestal School, North Chicago

I taught for 33 years in North Chicago Unit School District. Twenty-five of those years were at Forrestal School, located on Great Lakes Naval Base, and seven years were spent at Green Bay School in the city of North Chicago.  I received a B.S. in Education (Elementary) from Northern Illinois University and an M.S. in Education (Curriculum and Instruction) from National Louis University.  I retired two years ago.

I have been an officer in the North Chicago Teachers' Union and am still serving as an officer in the Lake County Federation of Teachers.  I am also on an Illinois Federation of Teachers Constituency Committee.  In those capacities I have served as a member of negotiating teams and also on many district committees, including textbook selection, curriculum revision, and a hiring committee for a new superintendent.  I attended a seminar on school evaluation to be part of a program for Illinois school improvement, including training to be an evaluator in other districts.

I have had several Lake Forest College students placed in my classroom. In addition to the junior fieldwork students and student teachers, I had a student doing field observation for a sociology project one semester.  Deborah Lawson and I have served on the EAC since its inception and have come and done presentations to students on incorporating multicultural literature into the curriculum.  We have also served on a few discussion panels in departments other than the Education Department.

I enjoy serving as a member of the EAC.  Although I have retired from active teaching, I am still very committed to the profession and to staying informed.  I hope I can offer a point of view that reflects the changes and challenges from a span of 35 years in the field. As a bonus, I also have more time to devote to any preparation necessary to fulfill the obligations of a committee member.  I treasure reading the portfolios and watching student's planning and reflecting of their lessons in different content areas.