Ms. Curtin

Lindsay Curtin is a new addition to the third grade staff this year.  She is a recent graduate of the University of Illinois with a Bachelors’ Degree in Science.  Lindsay is from Arlington Heights, a northwest suburb of Chicago.  In her free time, she loves spending time with her family and friends.  Lindsay is ecstatic to be working at Lincoln Trail where she did her fall placement with Ben Herriott.  She is so glad that her dream to become a teacher is finally a reality.  We’re glad that she is part of our third grade team.

Ms. Brown

Katie Brown is very excited for her first year of teaching as a third grade teacher at Lincoln Trail.  She graduated in May 2011 from Illinois State University where she received her Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education, with a minor in Spanish. Although she student taught in the Bloomington-Normal area, Mahomet is still very familiar to her as she is a Mahomet-Seymour graduate. She says she feels extremely lucky to be a 3rd grade teacher at Lincoln Trail with some of the same teachers that inspired her to become a teacher in the first place.  Lincoln Trail is fortunate to have Katie on our staff.

Ms. Davidson

Kayli Davison recently graduated from the University of Illinois, and continues to live in Champaign. This is her first year of teaching, and it is off to a wonderful start!  Kayli student taught at Lincoln Trail last year in Mrs. Wills’ third grade class so was very familiar with the third grade routine.  She reports that she loves that she has the opportunity to have my own classroom at Lincoln Trail.  Lindsay is originally from DeKalb, and returns there frequently to visit her family.

Mr. Forman

Chris Forman is the proud father of two children, the oldest, Emma, who turned three in June and Elijah, who will turn one in October.  His wife, Gretchen, is the academic coordinator for the Intensive English Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. They have lived in Mahomet for three years.  Professionally, he has worked previously as an elementary school teacher. He taught for two years in a private international school in Beijing, PRC. Upon returning to the United States, he entered graduate school where he worked as a graduate assistant in the Educational Organization and Leadership department for two years while earning his Master’s in Education. Before serving last year as a teaching assistant at Middletown Early Childhood Center, he was a special education assistant in the Normal public school district. Chris enjoys hiking, canoeing, cooking and camping.

Mrs. Nicolette

Serra Nicolette lives in Champaign with her husband and two very happy and energetic children; Lily, 7, and Sam, 4.  She graduated from the U of I in Elementary Education and just completed her Masters in Literacy this past year.  She is currently in the process of getting her reading teacher endorsement/certification.  Serra has taught for 14 years in Unit 7 and Unit 4 Schools, teaching first, fourth, sixth, and seventh grades.  She was born in Germany and lived there for about six years and her mother is from Turkey and she has spent many summers there.  Serra’s father was in the Army, so she spent most of her childhood traveling all over the United States and Europe.  Serra loves reading, traveling, cooking and spending time with her children.

Mrs. Bristle

Dawn Bristle is our new support services teacher.  Dawn received her special education degree at Illinois State University and is currently working towards her Master’s Degree in educational leadership.  She has four years of experience in several different school districts teaching special education settings.  Before coming to Mahomet-Seymour she taught in Oswego and Urbana school districts.  Dawn lives in Monticello with her husband and two mini goldendoodles.  She loves to travel and read especially during school breaks.

Renea Staffeldt

Renea Staffeldt is our newest support services aide.  She grew up in Champaign.  She has been married for 8 years and has twin 6 year old boys who are in first grade this year.  She is currently working on a degree in Elementary Education.  Her favorite thing to do when she is not helping the kids at Lincoln Trail is to spend time with her family.  In just a few short weeks, Renae has already become invaluable to our support services program.  Her patience and commitment are recognized daily as she works with our children.

Ms. Faith Swartzendruber

Fourth grade teacher, Faith Swartzendruber joined the Lincoln Trail staff in February 2011.  She received B.S. and M.S. degrees in elementary education from Eastern Illinois University in 2008 and 2011.  Faith lives in Champaign.  Faith completed her student teaching with Sandy Prather and was subbing in our building prior to becoming our fourth grade teacher.  She did an amazing job last year finishing the fourth grade year when Mrs. Dykstra left and has worked hard to get this fourth grade year off to a fabulous start.

Mrs. Back

Natalie Back has a Bachelor of Science degree in education from Illinois State University and a Masters in Elementary Education from Eastern Illinois University.   She comes to Mahomet-Seymour school district with eight years of experience. Natalie has taught the last eight years at Mattoon Middle School in Mattoon, Illinois. During that time, she taught reading, language arts, and social studies at the 6^th and 7^th grade levels.  Natalie is originally from Farmer City.  She is thrilled to move back to the area.  In her free time, Natalie enjoys spending time with her family and friends.  Natalie and her husband, Nathan, are blessed with two little boys, Brody and Beau.  Natalie looks forward to her fifth grade class and becoming a Bulldog!