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510 East Washington, Suite 115
Bloomington, Illinois, 61701
Phone: 309.827.2932
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Our son has been attending Blooming Grove Academy for over 4 years. We like the emphasis the school places on the Corsini method of the 4 R's (responsibility, responsiveness, resource-fulness, and respect). Hand-in-hand with BGA we are teaching my son to be caring, respectful, open, and responsible not only for himself but those around him... [more]
Staff
Karen Bruning- Director
Karen joined Blooming Grove Academy in August 2010. She has an undergraduate degree in Elementary Education from ISU and holds the State of Illinois Teacher Certification. She completed her Masters in Education Administration from National-Louis University. She has been in education for 25 years. Previously, Karen owned and operated her own pre-school, was an administrator at Parkland College Child Development Lab School, and worked at the state level in early childhood, on policies and guidelines around early childhood professionals. She brings years of grant writing, fundraising, leadership training and staff development to this position.Contact Karen
Jodi Stalsworth – Business/Human Resources Manager
Jodi joined the Blooming Grove team in March of 2005 as the Business Manager. She has a Bachelors degree from Illinois State University and brings with her many years of experience in the financial area. She handles all family accounts, financial records and human resources. Jodi has a great deal of familiarity with the school and its philosophies, not only as the Business Manager, but also having been a BGA parent for several years. She has been instrumental in many roles such as the PT Crew, Fundraising Team, and publisher of What’s Blooming, just to name a few.Contact Jodi
Marcia Esparza – Office Administrator
Marcia joined the Blooming Grove team in 2004. She is a graduate of the American College of Technology and has over 30 years of secretarial experience. Prior to working at BGA, Marcia worked for a local public school district as the Administrative Assistant for Title I, Reading & Gifted. Marcia has acquired numerous office administration certificates throughout her years of employment.
Contact Marcia
Gayle Uphoff – Teacher
Gayle is a graduate of Illinois State University with a Bachelors degree in Special Education (EMH). She received her Masters degree in Curriculum and Instruction in March 2009. She has been with Blooming Grove since 1993, but has 14 years previous experience teaching at various preschools in the area and Metcalf Laboratory School. Gayle is trained in piano and flute. She also has training in Positive Discipline in the Classroom and the High/Scope Curriculum.
Contact Gayle
Kay Griepentrog – Teacher
Kay is a graduate of Eureka College with a Bachelors degree in Elementary Education. She has been teaching at Blooming Grove since 1990. Prior to her employment with us, she was employed as a licensed home day care provider. She has also worked at Faith Lutheran Day Care Center and as a substitute teacher for public schools. Kay has training in Developing Capable People, Math Their Way, Positive Discipline in the Classroom, the High/Scope Curriculum, and Wright Group Reading Techniques.
Contact Kay
Kris Barnett – Teacher
Kris has been a teacher at BGA since 2004. She received her Bachelors and Masters degrees in Elementary Education from the University of Evansville in Indiana. Kris has taught elementary classes and Music at BGA but has 12 years of teaching experience at various grade levels. She has been trained in Positive Discipline in the Classroom and the Four Blocks Reading Program and has previous experience with the Head Start Program.
Contact Kris
Cristen Susong – Teacher
Cristen is a graduate of the University of Texas at El Paso and has 10 years teaching experience ranging from 3 year olds to high school. Cristen’s areas of expertise are Language Arts, History, Kumon Math K-3, Speech & Debate, Theatre and Psychology.
Contact Cristen
Meghan Hillebrandt – Teacher
Meghan joined BGA in 2007, and teaches our middle school students. Her other teaching experiences include teaching second grade in Lincoln, Illinois and substituting in both the Bloomington and Normal school districts. She is an Illinois State University graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education.
Contact Meghan
Kathy Bihn – Teacher
Kathy joined the Blooming Grove staff in 1998. She has 7 years of previous teaching experience with children ranging in age from 18 months to six years. She earned a bachelors degree in Early Childhood Education from Elms College (located in western Massachusetts). She also has a Masters Degree in Education from Illinois State University. She taught at ISU for two years. She has training in positive discipline, math their way and building blocks.
Contact Kathy
Pushpa Chaudhari – Teacher Assistant
Pushpa has been at Blooming Grove since 1994. She has attended classes at Heartland Community College and Illinois State University. Her past experience includes many years of in home day care, working at BGA’s Summer Camp, and Year of the Volunteer work with Balvihar, a Sunday School program for children from India.
Careers at BGA