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About Our Faculty
All of our teachers are fully certified by the Ohio Department of Education and by the Diocese of Cleveland.
Auxiliary Staff ( funded by the State of Ohio)
Meet our faculty
Miss Michelle Nowakowski - Principal
Miss Menard - Kindergarten
Hello there, my name is Miss Menard and I am so excited to be teaching Kindergarten at St. Francis de Sales school in Parma, Ohio. I received my Bachelors degree in Early Childhood Education with a reading endorsement from Baldwin Wallace College in 2006.This is my fifth year teaching at St. Francis de Sales!I am very blessed to have a wonderful family and two very playful dogs, Cooper and Tucker. I love movies, reading, and writing. My favorite place to go is Disney World!
Mrs. Yurko - Grade 1
Hi! I'm Mrs. Yurko and I teach first grade at St. Francis de Sales School. I have been teaching in the primary grades for 37 years. I have my Bachelor's Degree in Education and have some credits toward my Master's Degree. I am certified to teach in grades K-8. I also have reached Master Teacher status in religious education. I have two awesome children, Megan and Christopher. I have a dog, Sammy and a cat, Spencer. I live in Parma. When I'm not teaching, I enjoy cake decorating, reading, skiing, and needlepoint. I especially love to walk!
Mrs. Sykes - Grade 2
This is my third year at St. Francis de Sales School. I graduated with a B.A. degree in Elementary Education and Learning Disabilities/Behavior Disorders from Notre Dame College of Ohio. I started out teaching second grade at St. Richard School in North Olmsted and then I was a learning disability teacher with the Cleveland Public Schools. I also was a learning disability teacher at St. Gilbert School in Chicago. After moving back to Parma in 2001, I taught third grade at Holy Family School for five years. I have four children ages 15- 22. I am looking forward to teaching both the second and third grade here at St. Francis de Sales this year. Stop in and say hello, you are always welcome!
Mrs. Ketterick - Grade 3
This will be my 10th year teaching at SFDS. I taught kindergarten for three years, first grade for one year, and this will be my fourth year as a third grade teacher. I will be teaching your child Religion, Language Arts (Spelling/English/Handwriting), Math, and Social Studies this year. Mrs. Sykes (our new second grade teacher) will teach your child Reading, Science and Health. I am happily married with two children. My son Conor is in Mrs. Yurko's first grade class and my daughter Norah is three and likes to pretend she goes to school. I have a Bachelors degree in Early Childhood Education. I will be returning to school to begin my Master's Program in January of 2010.
Mrs. Lillstrung - Grade 4
I have a Bachelors degree in Elementary Education (Kindergarten - Grade 8) and a Masters degree in Reading from Baldwin-Wallace College. I have eight full years of teaching experience. I taught second grade for seven years at St. Josaphat School. This is my fourth year as the fourth grade homeroom teacher at St. Francis de Sales. I am a member of the International Reading Association. I have also received the "Who's Who Among American Teachers" recognition in 2005 and 2006. This year I am teaching Reading, English, Spelling, Science, and Health to grades four and five. I am also teaching Handwriting and Art to the fourth grade.
Mrs. Tetlak - Grade 5
I am looking forward to working with your daughters and sons for the 2009/2010 school year. I am the 5th grade teacher and also teach Religion, Math and Social Studies to the 4th grade. I am a graduate of Cleveland State University with a Bachelor of Science in Education degree and also have a Master of Arts degree in Elementary Administration from Ursuline College. I have 27 years of educational experience. I taught for 17 years in grades 4-8. I was also a Catholic elementary school principal for 10 years. I have a Master Catechist certification from the Diocese of Cleveland.
When my school closed 2 years ago I acted on my desire to return to the classroom and found a wonderful new family at St. Francis de Sales. It is a true blessing to work with Miss Nowakowski, the dedicated faculty and staff and the supportive students and families.
Miss Pickering - Grade 6
Miss Cleary - Grade 7
Welcome to another academic year at St. Francis de Sales School. I am Mrs. Cleary and this will be my fifth year at St. Francis de Sales. I am married to Mr. Patrick Cleary and we are the proud parents of four children, Patrick, Meghan, Mary Grace and Joe. In 1987, I graduated from Akron University with a Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology and a minor in Chemistry. In 2004, I graduated from Ursuline College with a Masters of Arts in Education. My Ohio licensure is for 4-9 Science/Social Studies. My goal in the classroom is provide an enriching environment directed toward the development and growth of each student and fostering a classroom atmosphere of critical thinking and concern for others.
Mrs. Koltcz - Grade 8
I am so excited to be working at Saint Francis de Sales this year! This is my ninth year teaching in the Diocese of Cleveland and I love being in the classroom. I have a Bachelor's degree in Secondary Integrated Language Arts and my Master's degree in Education Administration. In my spare time, I love to read and watch movies. I have a dog, Bosley who also keeps me very busy, we like to hike in the Metroparks. I have an amazing husband and a great family that is always there to support me.
- Degree: Bachelor's degree in Secondary Integrated Language Arts. Master's in Education Administration.
- Teaching Experience: 9 Years
- Tenure at St. Francis: First year
Miss Tesny - Physical Education and Computers
Hi, my name is Miss Tesny and this is my first year teaching both computer and P.E. classes. Previously I have taught K, 1st, and 4th grades. This is my fifth year teaching and I love it! I rcently graduated with my Master's Degree in Instructional Technology. I enjoy learning about new types of technology and how to apply it in the classroom. I am looking forward to teaching and learning from all of the students this year.
- Teaching Experience: 5 Years
- Tenure at St. Francis: First Year
- Awards/Honors: Reading Endorsemrnt K-12, 4th & 5th Grade Endorsement, Technology Endorsement K-12
Mrs. Sopko - Spanish
Bienvenidos. My name is Mrs. Sopko and I teach Spanish from Kindergarten through 8th grade. I am originally from Argentina and I have been teaching Spanish for over 30 years in different private and Catholic schools in the Cleveland and Akron areas.
Miss Cole - Music
I graduated from Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music/Degree in Music Education. I majored in Voice and minored in Piano. I have a second Major in Art History and a Minor in Studio Art. I have taught for many years in the public schools. This will be my tenth year at St. Francis de Sales School. I received special honors for working with children with special needs. I have also sung professionally for 10 years.
Mrs. Armstrong - School Secretary
Bryant & Stratton Business College - Secretarial Degree
Experience: 14 Years
Tenure at St. Francis de Sales: 4 Years
