Staff & Board Members

Lisa Rademacher has been teaching for over 20 years in Rome, New York, and all sides of Chicago. She has taught in non-profits working with refugee communities, private schools, and at Chicago Public Schools. She has taught 3-year-olds to adults and has loved it all, although her niche is early childhood. She has a B.S. in Religious Studies and Music from Edgewood College in Madison, WI. She received an MA in Theological Studies with a concentration in Peace and Justice from the Maryknoll School of Theology in New York. She has an MA in Teaching in Early Childhood from National Louis University. She founded and lives in the Sophia Community in Hyde Park with her husband, two daughters, and many others. She is passionate about co-creating a joyful community of learners in which inquiry and creativity are fostered.

Jaylyn Weathersby is the Pre-K/Kindergarten Assistant Teacher

Saengjun (Waew) Luse, grew up in a rural community in Thailand about five hours northeast of Bangkok. During her childhood she recalls collecting rain water in jars, living under grass roofed houses, and hand-making many of their household items – like beds, tools, and furniture. Waew received her B.E. in the teaching of Chemistry from Nakon Sawan Rajabhat University in Thailand. After graduating, she worked at an elementary school in Sumut Prakarn province near Bangkok for 3 years. She then participated in a Cultural Exchange Program in the US for two years, having had the opportunity to improve her English skills, make friends with other students from around the world, and learn about their cultures. She recalls it as one of the greatest experiences she has ever had in her life! After the exchange program, Waew learned extensively about child development and how children learn through play during her time working for Baby Ph.D. and operating her own daycare. It was, however, the birth of her own daughter which made her truly question the purpose of education and the available models which best suit an individual’s needs and development. Waew believes that Free School allows children the space necessary to develop their own interests and abilities – and hence a love for learning – a community, versus an isolated teaching space, and a humane system of discipline that treats children like people. She is thrilled to be the parent of a student at CFS and now also a teacher.

Avery Garza is the 1st/2nd/3rd grade assistant teacher.

Lauren Beitler taught middle-school math for six years before leaving traditional school teaching to work on founding Chicago Free School.  Before becoming a teacher she got her B.A. in Mathematics and her M.A.T. from the Urban Teacher Education Program at the University of Chicago.  She spent the 2012-13 school year teaching at the Free School in Albany, NY, a democratic free school that has been serving a diverse group of learners in downtown Albany since 1969.  Because she attended a democratic school as a child, she knows firsthand the joy in learning that students can experience when given responsibility and freedom. She advises the 4th/5th grade homeroom and teaches elective classes for all ages. Lauren was a Golden Apple Excellence in Teaching Award nominee in 2022-2023. Lauren says, “It is always a joy to help students follow their curiosity at school, and to connect them with learning experiences that allow them to express their creativity and share their ideas.”

Ephran Ramirez‘s teaching background is rooted in informal, formal, and alternative STEM education and mentoring. He taught science, technology, and social justice at an out-of-school program before coming to CFS and studied Middle School Math and Science Education at Northeastern Illinois University. He has worked as an advisor on three separate research projects about finding ways to assess learning in informal and maker lab learning spaces. Besides this, he has been involved in various community organizing and social justice movements since he was in high school. It was through this work that he discovered the free school model and chose to work in education. Though a lifelong Chicagoan, Ephran visits his family in Puerto Rico often and has visited the Middle East and Scandinavia to participate in environmental and social justice work. He is dedicated to youth empowerment, antiracism, LGBTQ liberation, environmental justice, feminism, and decolonization and he integrates those ideas into his teaching. He also facilitates CFS’s Maker Lab for 1st-8th grade students.

Hel Ramsey has been working as a bookkeeper for the last fifteen years. They graduated with a BA in Individualized Studies from Goddard College, a school based in self-directed education with a focus on social and environmental justice. They enjoy reading speculative fiction and philosophy, growing herbs and tomatoes, and they recently took up archery. They are excited to support liberatory education as part of a just and inclusive learning community.