DEKALB COUNTY REGIONAL OFFICE OF EDUCATION
  • About
    • Friends of DeKalb ROE
    • DeKalb County Website
  • Professional Development
    • Professional Development Opportunities
    • Professional Development Staff
    • IL-EMPOWER Learning Partner Services
    • County-Wide Institute Day
    • Early Childhood Summer Institute
  • Family and Community Engagement
    • Family and Community Engagement
    • Basics DeKalb County
    • Early Learning Team
    • Student and Family Success Team
  • DeKalb County Collaborative for Young Children
    • DeKalb County Collaborative for Young Children
    • DCCYC Partner Committees
    • DCCYC Resources

Professional Development Staff

Get to Know our Consultants

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Amanda Christensen

DeKalb County Regional Superintendent of Education
Amanda  taught in the area of English / Language Arts for 15 years at Granger Middle School in Aurora, Kishwaukee Education Consortium, and then at DeKalb High School. She earned National Board Certification in 2008 and has a Master’s degree and a Specialist degree in Educational Leadership. She was elected to the office of Regional Superintendent of Schools in 2012 and is always looking for opportunities to expand ROE programming in order to serve the needs of the community. 

Miriam taught middle school Social Studies, Language Arts, and Pre-Algebra in Camas, WA prior to moving to Aurora, IL. Upon arriving in the Midwest, she served as a  home bound tutor, substitute teacher, and ACT tutor. She began her tenure at Aurora University in 2005 where she taught in both the teacher preparation and General Education programs. Miriam completed her Ed.D in Leadership in Curriculum & Instruction in 2017. Her dissertation research examined the experience of underrepresented minority students who learned mindfulness. She is the founding director of Resilient Mind Consulting, a non-profit dedicated to helping communities implement contemplative practices, and a board member with the Coalition of Schools Educating Mindfully (COSEM).
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Miriam Ojaghi, Ed. D.

Professional Development Team Lead
​Educational Consultant
815-217-0548
mojaghi@dekalbcounty.org
Strengths and Expertise:
  • Culturally Relevant Teaching                                        
  • Social/Emotional Learning
  • Trauma
  • Mindfulness & the Brain
  • Instructional Coaching
  • English Language Learners
  • Middle School Curriculum Alignment
  • Elementary Classroom (licensed K-8)
  • Classroom Management​
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Anne Almburg, Ed.D.

Literacy Consultant
815-217-0548
aalmburg@dekalbcounty.org
Strengths and Expertise:
  • Literacy
  • Supporting English language learners and families
  • Family engagement
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Anne has taught for more than 25 years, spanning kindergarten through college-aged students.  She has taught in a variety of educational settings as a classroom teacher and as a reading specialist.  Anne received her doctoral degree in 2011.  Her dissertation explored families’ literacy practices, teachers’ perspectives, and areas of intersect.  She has co-authored four articles; two based on in situ research within a Puerto Rican community in Chicago and two pertaining to family engagement practices.
Anne’s passion for literacy instruction and the importance of family engagement has driven her career pathway. She is currently a literacy consultant for D428 assisting with curriculum development, assessment, and instructional practices. 
Carrie has joined the DeKalb County Regional Office of Education as an Early Learning Educational Consultant.  She has been a professional early childhood educator for 29 years. She is a certified early childhood teacher that has taught toddlers through first grade in both private and public school settings, worked as a Developmental Therapist in Illinois Early Intervention, consulted with DuPage Children’s Museum and worked in the INCRAA system at DeKalb 4C as a professional development specialist. She holds a M.Ed. in Child Development and is currently completing an Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Certificate, both from The Erikson Institute. 
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Carrie Abbott-Walk, ​M.Ed.

Early Learning Educational Consultant
815-217-0546
cabbott-walk@dekalbcounty.org

Strengths and Expertise:
  • Child Development
  • Instructional Coaching
  • Teacher wellness
  • Growth mindset
  • Mindfulness
  • Yoga
  • Social-Emotional Learning
  • Relationship-based SEL at home and at school
  • Learning through play​
  • Adventure playgrounds
  • Families as partners
  • Intentional teaching 
  • Lesson planning for play with IELDS
  • Quality learning environments and teaching practices 
  • ECERS-3, The Pyramid Model (Early Childhood PBIS)
  • Trauma Responsiveness
  • CLASS (Classroom Assessment System)
  • Adult-child interactions and learning
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Christine Kipp, M.S.

Educational Consultant
815-217-0546
​ckipp@dekalbcounty.org
Strengths and Expertise:
  • early childhood education theory and practices (applicable to all ages/grades)
  • coaching ECE teachers
  • anti-bias curriculum/social justice
Chris has joined the Regional Office of Education as an Educational Consultant. For the majority of her career, Chris was the director of the on-campus child care program at NIU. She supervised and coached early childhood teachers and worked with a very diverse group of children and families. During her time at NIU, she also worked as part of a collaborative team of professionals in the Division of Student Affairs. She also provided professional development to local early childhood educators and taught child development classes at Kishwaukee College and NIU. Most recently, she worked for one year as a literacy assistant in a DeKalb grade school, and taught the Early Childhood Education career class at KEC for four years. Chris has a bachelor’s and master’s degree related to Family & Child Studies.
  • brain development and its effect on learning
  • working with adult learners
  • continuous improvement planning
  • systems implementation
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Address

2500 North Annie Glidden Road, Suite C DeKalb, IL 60115

Telephone

815.217.0460

Copyright 2018.  DeKalb County Regional Office of Education.   All rights reserved.
  • About
    • Friends of DeKalb ROE
    • DeKalb County Website
  • Professional Development
    • Professional Development Opportunities
    • Professional Development Staff
    • IL-EMPOWER Learning Partner Services
    • County-Wide Institute Day
    • Early Childhood Summer Institute
  • Family and Community Engagement
    • Family and Community Engagement
    • Basics DeKalb County
    • Early Learning Team
    • Student and Family Success Team
  • DeKalb County Collaborative for Young Children
    • DeKalb County Collaborative for Young Children
    • DCCYC Partner Committees
    • DCCYC Resources