Administration
Mrs. Picchione
Principal
Mrs. Picchione grew up in Rhode Island and earned her Bachelor’s of Arts in Elementary Education and Psychology at Rhode Island College. Prior to becoming the principal of Saint Joan of Arc School, Mrs. Picchione served as an assistant principal, reading specialist and kindergarten teacher for the Diocese of Joliet. She completed her Master’s Degree in Reading and Literacy at Benedictine University in 2010 and Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership in 2013 at Lewis University. She is looking forward to beginning the new school year at Saint Joan of Arc School in Lisle.
Mrs. Barenbrugge
Vice Principal
Mrs. Barenbrugge started teaching at SJA in 2007. She joined the faculty of St Joan already having had six years of teaching experience. She has taught both first and third grades at SJA and has a Masters Degree as a reading specialist.
Mrs. Clinnin
Office Manager
Mrs. Clinnin joined the SJA staff in 2021 as the office manager. She holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Iowa. She is a Certified Internal Auditor, as well as, a Certified Fraud Examiner. She has two children at SJA.
Mrs. Dooley
Counselor
Mrs. Dooley has been a counselor at SJA since 2000. She has a Master’s degree from NIU and is a certified loss and grief counselor as well as an addiction counselor. Before joining the SJA staff she was a therapist at Lisle Township and Director of Youth and Family Services. All of Mrs. Dooley’s children graduated from SJA.
Mrs. Kolin
Office Support Staff
A long time SJA parent with Bella who graduated in 2016, and Ben graduating in 2022. Her time at SJA has included many volunteer activities from Rec mom, library helper, parent photographer, parent in charge of memory book, co-coordinator for Hot Lunch, to name a few. Recently she became the kindergarten aide for Mrs Suwanski for the last two school years.
Background includes A.A.S. in dental hygiene and B.S. In Occupational Education from Southern Illinois University and JD from The John Marshall Law School/UIC.
Preschool & Kindergarten
Mrs. Zink
Preschool Teacher
Mrs. Zink has been the 3 year old preschool teacher at SJA since 2016. She has a Bachelors Degree from Elmhurst College in Early Childhood Education. She has a Masters in Education, and endorsements in ELL and reading. In addition to preschool, she had previously taught special education and kindergarten.
Ms. (Riccio) Putong
Preschool Teacher
Ms. (Riccio) Putong began teaching at SJA in 2013. She received her Bachelors Degree in Early Childhood Education from Elmhurst College. She also received her special education endorsement from there as well.
Mrs. Smith
Preschool Teacher
Mrs. Smith joins the SJA teaching team with a Bachelor’s Degree from Saint Louis University, and a Masters Degree in Elementary Education from DePaul University. She has 4 previous years of teaching PreK3 and is looking forward to teaching the Preschool 3 Chargers.
Mrs. Melvin
Preschool Teacher
Mrs Melvin comes to SJA with a Bachelors Degree from the University of Central Missouri
She has been working in Early Childhood Education for 12 years and for the past four years taught Pre-Kindergarten in Houston, Texas. She also has endorsements in ESL and Special Education
Miss Mayor
Kindergarten Teacher
Miss Mayor attended both All Saints Catholic Academy and Saint Francis High School before graduating in education from Purdue University in 2023. Throughout these years as a student, she developed a passion for teaching and she is thrilled to start her teaching career in Kindergarten at Saint Joan of Arc.
Mrs. Suwanski
Kindergarten Teacher
Mrs. Suwanski joined the staff of SJA in 2018. She is a graduate of Bradley University with a Bachelor of Science degree. Mrs. Suwanski came to St. Joan already having a decade of teaching experience and has endorsements in Language Arts and Social Sciences. She also holds an ECE Credential Level 5 certificate.
Elementary Grades
Mrs. Lauinger
1st Grade Teacher
Mrs. Lauinger is already part of the SJA family as the teacher of our Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program. She is an experienced educator with over a decade of experience working with children and families. Her classroom philosophy incorporates music in the classroom to enhance engagement and learning.
Mrs. Clark
2nd Grade Teacher
Mrs. Clark has been teaching at SJA since 2003. She attended Elmhurst College for her undergrad and received her Masters Degree in Reading from Concordia University. Mrs. Clark has a daughter who graduated from St. Joan of Arc.
Mrs. Persico
2nd Grade Teacher
Mrs. Persico joined the SJA staff in 2021 with 17 years of prior teaching experience. She has a degree in elementary education from Northeastern Illinois University.
Mrs. Bonomo
3rd Grade Teacher
Mrs. Bonomo is a member of the class of 2020 and has started her teaching career in the midst of Covid. She most recently was teaching at a public school in Burbank. Her priority as a teacher is to make her classroom a safe environment to promote growth, collaboration and inclusion for every student.
Mrs. Letsinger
3rd Grade Teacher
Mrs. Letsinger has been teaching junior kindergarten students at SJA since 2016. She has a Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education from the University of Memphis and is working on finishing her Masters Degree in Education. Mrs. Letsinger came to SJA with fourteen years of experience teaching in 4 year old preschool along with experience teaching in first, third, fourth, and fifth grades.
Mrs. Graves
4th/5th Science/Social Studies Teacher
Mrs. Graves started teaching fourth grade at St. Joan of Arc in 2013. She has her Masters Degree in education, along with a Bachelor of Science Degree in merchandising and marketing.
Mrs. Hicks
4th/5th Math Teacher
Mrs. Hicks joined the St. Joan of Arc staff in 2021. She came to us with experience teaching 2nd through 8th graders. Mrs. Hicks has a BS in Communications and Advertising, a Master of Business Administration, and a MA in Teaching with middle school endorsements.
Mrs. Kenney
4th/5th ELA Teacher
Mrs. Kenney began teaching at St. Joan of Arc in 2005. She has taught both fourth grade and second grade at SJA. Prior to St. Joan, she was a special educator for 6th, 7th and 8th grade in the public school system. She has a Masters Degree as a reading specialist from Concordia University. Mrs. Kenney has three daughters who graduated from St. Joan of Arc.
Mrs. Neumann
4th/5th Grade Teacher
Mrs. Neumann previously taught 4th grade and 7th grade science before coming to SJA in 2023. She has a Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education with minors in science as well as psychology from Elmhurst College. She also received her Masters Degree in Biology from University of Miami Ohio.
Mrs. Weber
5th/6th Math Teacher / 6th Grade Religion
Mrs. Weber is in charge of the “Great Books” program at St. Joan of Arc and helps with math instruction. She has a daughter who attended SJA. Mrs. Weber joined the staff in 2011.
Junior High
Mrs. Anderson
JH Science Teacher
Mrs. Anderson started at SJA in 2009 as a science teacher in junior high having two years of previous teaching experience in the public schools. She received her Bachelors Degree from Eastern Illinois University and her Masters degree from DePaul University. In 2015, she was named Civil Air Patrol National Aerospace Teacher of the Year.
Dr. Kucaj
JH ELA Teacher
Dr. Kucaj joined the SJA staff in 2020, having previously taught in the Los Angeles and San Jose Unified School Districts. She holds a bachelor’s degree in agricultural sciences from Cal Poly, a master’s degree in education from UCLA, and a doctorate in educational leadership and policy from Vanderbilt University.
Mr. Moody
JH ELA Teacher
Mr. Moody joined Saint Joan of Arc in 2023 after previously teaching at a public school in Elmwood Park. Mr. Moody earned his Bachelor's Degree in English from Governors State University in 2001 and his middle school endorsement from Saint Xavier University. For Mr. Moody, teaching English at a Catholic school is a dream come true.
Mr. Rickert
JH Social Studies / ELA
Mr. Rickert began teaching at St. Joan of Arc in 2015 as the junior high social studies teacher. He has a B.S. in Journalism, from the University of Illinois and a Master of Arts in Teaching from National-Louis University.
Mrs. Svitak
JH Math Teacher
Mrs. Svitak has been teaching math at SJA since 1998. She received her Bachelors Degree from Northern Illinois University and her middle school endorsement from Benedictine University. She has had four children attend and graduate from St. Joan of Arc.
Mrs. Weber
5th/6th Math Teacher / 6th Grade Religion
Mrs. Weber is in charge of the “Great Books” program at St. Joan of Arc and helps with math instruction. She has a daughter who attended SJA. Mrs. Weber joined the staff in 2011.
Subjects
Mrs. Galant
PE Teacher
Mrs. Galant is an SJA alumni who joined the SJA teaching staff as the physical education teacher in 2021. Mrs. Galant had experience teaching 3rd grade and PE before coming to St. Joan of Arc. She earned her degree from Western Michigan University. Mrs. Galant and her family are parishioners of SJA and her two children are students here.
Mrs. Kimmel
Fine Arts Teacher
Mrs. Kimmel has been a member of St. Joan of Arc Staff since 2012. She and her husband are parishioners and their son is a student of St. Joan of Arc School. Mrs. Kimmel received her Bachelor of Science Degree from Rush University and has a passion for the visual arts and art history!
W.I.N.
Mrs. Ouellette
W.I.N. Teacher
Mrs. Ouellette is a part time W.I.N. teacher for grades K-8. She started teaching at SJA in 2000.