Staff List

Mrs. Toth began working at St. Mary of Gostyn in 1999 as a teachers’ aide

and in 2009 she moved to the school office to become an Administrative Assistant. Her family has been parishioners for over twenty years. Mary has three children who all attended St. Mary of Gostyn from Kindergarten through eighth grade. They went on to graduate from Downers Grove South, and then Illinois State and Lewis University as well.

Mrs. Kalal is starting her 21^st year at St. Mary of Gostyn. Before accepting the position of Assistant Principal, she taught middle school Mathematics. She is an alumnus from SMG, as are her four children, and feel especially vested in St. Mary’s as a student, parent, teacher, and administrator.

Mrs. Kalal earned her B.A. in Elementary Education from Concordia College (now Concordia University) and has taken many courses and attended numerous workshops in a wide variety of topics to continue her desire to be a lifelong learner. She is currently finishing up coursework to obtain a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership.

She loves being a part of a community that values communication between the school and parents. Seeing the students gain knowledge, confidence, and a love of God is so rewarding to her. She looks forward to seeing the students’ smiling faces every day.

Mrs. Malik is the Kindergarten teacher who loves her job. She attended Aurora University where she received her B. A. in Elementary Education. For many years, she was the art teacher in Kindergarten and was the first grade aid here at St. Mary of Gostyn. She taught second grade at St. Raphael School before teaching at St. Mary’s. Her years of teaching have been wonderful and she looks forward to many more. Her Husband’s name is Peter and her five children who have all graduated from St. Mary’s support her love of teaching. St. Mary of Gostyn is a wonderful school community and she is so glad to be a part of it.

Ms. Jamrozek has been part of the St. Mary’s Family, first teaching 2^nd grade,  and now, Kindergarten.  She earned her Bachelor degree at DePaul University and continues to study the latest teaching trends through seminars, meetings and educational texts.  Her aim in teaching the young child is to instill in them a love of God and neighbor as she guides them in growing academically, socially and spiritually.

Mrs. Laurich is delighted to teach at St. Mary of Gostyn School. She graduated from Loyola University Chicago with a BS in Education.  Since graduating she has taught 1st through 4th grade, 5th grade Math and Science and Jr. High Science. Her love for children, working with families and the joy of seeing a child develop are some of the primary reasons she chose to become an educator. These are also what keeps her coming back for more. Her hopes for her students are for them to learn and excel in their academics but to also grow spiritually in their knowledge and love for God. Mrs. Laurich and her husband live in Downers Grove with their four boys and their dog Lilly. She has always enjoyed being active in athletics and now enjoys watching and cheering her boys in all their sports.

Before teaching first grade, Ms. Hill joined St. Mary of Gostyn as our math resource teacher. Her teaching experience is in middle school math and social studies, both as classroom teacher and an after school enrichment teacher. Prior to her teaching career, Ms. Hill worked for over 15 years in sales in the mortgage banking industry.

She graduated from the University of Illinois at Champaign/Urbana with a B.S. in Finance and from Lewis University with a Master’s degree in Elementary Education with middle school endorsements in mathematics, social studies, and ELA.

Ms. Hill currently lives in Westmont with her husband and two children.  She enjoys being a Girl Scout leader, bike riding, and traveling with her family.

Miss Buh is a graduate of Saint Mary’s from the class of 2007. After Saint Mary’s, she attended Benet Academy then Indiana University, where she earned her degree in Elementary Education with a Spanish minor. Miss Buh returned to Saint Mary’s in 2015 as a third grade homeroom teacher. She is also the Math/Science teacher for both third grade classes. She is happy to be teaching at the same school that gave her so many positive memories as a student!

Mrs. Cantlin began her career teaching high school social studies and English.  She earned her B.A. in Social Science from Illinois Benedictine College (Benedictine University)  with an endorsement in secondary education and English literature. While teaching at Willowbrook High School, Mrs. Cantlin also worked with students outside of the classroom as the coach of the pompom team and dance troupe director.  Following her six years of teaching at Willowbrook, where she met her husband, Mrs. Cantlin took time away from the classroom to raise her two children, Ryan and Katie.

Both of Mrs. Cantlin’s children are graduates of St. Mary’s.  While her children attended SMG, Mrs. Cantlin was actively involved in the school as an H.S.A. officer and president.  During this time, she also taught students on homebound status with Willowbrook High School.  She eventually returned to the classroom part time as a middle school aide at St. Mary’s for five years.

Mrs. Cantlin is excited to be back teaching in the classroom and is thrilled to be a third grade teacher at St. Mary’s.  She enjoys the third graders’ enthusiasm for learning and their constant energy.  Together they learn while having fun. When she is not teaching, Mrs. Cantlin enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, and cheering on her children at their sporting events.

Mrs. Zinni graduated from Illinois State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. In addition, she has received endorsements in Reading, Language Arts, Math, and Science. At one point, our school’s theme was “We Are Called.” This theme was very fitting for Mrs. Zinni, as she started teaching in a Catholic school. Mrs. Zinni is excited to have the opportunity to share her faith and be a part of St. Mary’s community.

Mr. Bruno has an Undergraduate Degree in Science from Loyola University and a Master’s Degree in Education from Aurora University. Mr. Bruno’s two sons are currently enrolled at St. Mary of Gostyn. Having students connect to history is always a goal for Mr. Bruno. Mr. Bruno enjoys challenging students to reach their potential while preparing them for the next stage of their education.

Mrs. Eallonardo joins St. Mary of Gostyn School with 30 years of experience as a Catholic school educator. She has been a classroom teacher at multiple grade levels and served as a reading and math resource teacher for middle school students. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education Grades K-9 and a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction.

Mrs. Eallonardo is excited to share her Catholic faith and passion for learning with her students. As a young child growing up in Downers Grove, Mrs. Eallonardo and her family were parishioners of St. Mary of Gostyn Parish, and she feels blessed to return to this welcoming community.

Mrs. Kahlke loves being part of the SMG community. She teaches middle school Reading/Language Arts and infuses the curriculum with our Catholic faith.  Her previous teaching experience includes high school English as well as Japanese. Mrs. Kahlke grew up overseas and appreciates different cultures. She enjoys bringing a multicultural approach to the study of literature. She also has a passion for writing and has founded SMG’s student publication, Voices. Mrs. Kahlke received her degree in the Teaching of English from the University of Illinois and has completed postgraduate coursework in Japanese from Northwestern University.

Ms. Kramer graduated Cum Laude from Western Illinois University with a Bachelor’s degree in Special Education and Elementary Education. Ms. Kramer is excited to have this opportunity to be a part of the St. Mary’s community. She is looking forward to a successful school year!

Mrs. Sloyan holds a B.S. in Math and Computer Science and an M.S. in Computer Science from Loyola University and recently earned her M.A.T. from National Louis University.  She is licensed to teach math and computer science at the middle school and high school levels.

Mrs. Sloyan and her husband Rob have been SMG parishioners for nearly 20 years and have three sons who graduated from SMG.   She has is honored to be a part of such a loving and caring community.

Mrs. Drabik graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Illinois State University.  She came to SMG for her second phase of teaching in 2003 after having taught at SMG for seven years prior to staying home to raise her four children during their formative years.  Her mission as a classroom teacher is to provide a caring, safe environment in which students can excel to the best of their abilities. She strives to challenge students to reach their potential academically as well as spiritually.  The ultimate goal is to challenge students to think critically regarding historic and current events while incorporating social justice and Catholic doctrine.

Mrs. Drabik enjoys spending time with family, hiking, gardening, reading, knitting, and baking.

Mrs. Ruddy graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education (English minor) and from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee with a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction and reading endorsement. Mrs. Ruddy holds an Elementary Education teaching license with endorsements in both language arts and reading. She is married to an SMG alumnus, is an active St. Mary of Gostyn parishioner, and is blessed to have three beautiful children. As Mrs. Ruddy continues to teach middle school reading and language arts, she looks forward to each day in the classroom being a new story with each student being a unique chapter of the story.

Mrs. Figueroa is excited to be back at St. Mary’s! She is a bilingual certified school social worker and a licensed clinical social worker with both a BSW and MSW from Loyola University Chicago. Her professional experience has been in public and private school systems as a direct practitioner, clinical supervisor, and consultant. She also has previous experience working with children and families in the foster care system, providing individual and family therapy and crisis intervention. She will be with us on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Mr. Barker is the music teacher at St. Mary of Gostyn. In addition to classroom instruction Mr. Barker is the Wednesday school mass choir director and accompanist, Wednesday school mass music liturgist, Christmas program director, producer and creative director of the yearly school musical and band director.

Mr. Barker studied music at DePaul University in Chicago with Lilianna Navachovich, a protégée  of Iam  Yampolski, with an emphasis on composition and music theory. Mr. Barker developed “The Rhythm of Reading” with Dr. Bernadette LeHai; a program designed to introduce the joy of reading to students with reading comprehension challenges using music cadence and rhythmic syntax

Mr. Barker has credits in commercial music and film score composition and is a veteran performer of theater orchestras, rock and pop bands and has performed as an actor and singer, on stage, in musical theater. Mr. Barker has continued independent studies in piano, brass, woodwind and vocal performance throughout his career and received the St. Mary of Gostyn Teacher Recognition Award in 2015.

In the summer Mr. Barker administrates and directs a Christian based musical theater summer camp program that reaches hundreds of young people in the western suburbs and introduces them to theater performance in a Christ centered environment.

Mr. Barker enjoys teaching at St. Mary’s because of the enthusiasm of the students, the high level of parent involvement, the professionalism of the teachers and staff, the warmth of the community and the genuine partnership that exists between the parents and the school working together for the benefit of each individual student while keeping Christ always at the center and glorified.  St. Mary’s is forward looking; embracing new technology in the classroom while fully supporting professional development for the teachers and staff. This is the recipe for success in the dual mission of educational and spiritual growth.

Mrs. Buchler is the Director of Technology for St. Mary of Gostyn School. Her education includes fifteen years of Catholic academics and numerous courses in Technology. She received a B.A. from St. Xavier College and has taught exclusively in Catholic schools. In 2016 she was selected to receive the Bishop Imesch award for Excellence in Teaching in the Diocese of Joliet. Mrs. Buchler is a St. Mary of Gostyn parishioner for over 35 yrs. and a proud mother of two alumni from our school. St. Mary of Gostyn is considered home and many important events have been celebrated both in the parish and as part of the faculty for thirty years. Honored to be a member of a dedicated, creative, and spiritually committed faculty, Mrs. Buchler considers her commitment at our school a true ministry.  She finds the challenge of teaching Technology and leading our faith-based school in this digital age a very rewarding career.  Grateful for the blessings she has received, Mrs. Buchler brags that St. Mary of Gostyn School is the BEST school ever!!

Mrs. Calistro is privileged to join the parents of her students in undertaking the God-given responsibility of educating our children about God and His expectations of us. She draws upon her great love of the Catholic faith and her years of experience in education to encourage those students entrusted to her care to develop a loving relationship with Jesus Christ. She is a proud member of St. Mary of Gostyn Parish, serving as an extraordinary minister, PADS volunteer, Bible Study participant, and religious education instructor. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana and a master’s degree in education from National-Louis University. She has taught middle school religion at SMG. Prior to joining the SMG staff, she worked as a paraprofessional with the special needs students at O’Neill Middle School. Mrs. Calistro is married to her husband Ralph and are the blessed parents of two grown sons.

Mr. White is our P. E. Teacher at St. Mary of Gostyn.  He began teaching at the secondary level in physical education and business at St. Francis High School in Wheaton from 1980 to 1993, as well as taking on Administrative Positions.  Mr. White moved into elementary education at St. John of the Cross in 1993 as the physical education teacher and Administrative Responsibilities of Student Development Coordinator and Athletic Director. Mr. White then moved into his first Principal’s Position in 2004 and has served in that capacity at three schools over the past 15 years.

Additionally he is an Assistant Football Coach at Nazareth Academy in LaGrange Park.  Mr. White is member of the Illinois High School Association and basketball referee.  His wife Kim has been the Speech and Theater Director at Nazareth Academy for the past 30 years.  They have two grown children and four grandchildren and reside in Downers Grove.

Dr. Hatley holds a Master’s and Doctorate degree in Curriculum & Instruction. Additional Certifications (ATACP, ATP) for Assistive Technology to support students who are struggling and to create a more accessible educational environment and Illinois PEL endorsed K-9, 6-12, LBS1. Dr. Hatley is retired Illinois Public schools 35+ years. She taught her first half of career- 18 years – in special education (K-gr.12)-multiple districts. She also taught in Resource, Instructional, & Self-Contained classrooms and also holds Certificates in multiple areas of Special Education (LD, BD/ED, MMI). Dr. Hatley also serviced to students and staff to help create an accessible environment through technology. She served 30+ schools within the school district in addition to out-placement facilities, helping students with more severe disabilities.

Coming soon…