About Us

Leslie A. Sassone is an Associate Professor of Foundations of Education in the College of Education Department of Leadership, Educational Psychology and Foundations. She teaches courses in philosophy of education and education as an agent for change.

Sassone earned a Ph.D. in Educational Studies (1994) and a M.S.Ed. in Communication and Speech Education (1988), both at Purdue University. She is the author of the book The Process of Becoming: democratic Nietzschean Pedagogy for Individualization
(Discovery Association Press, 2002).

Gail Gattis is a National Board Certified Teacher (2011), with ESL and Middle School endorsements, and has been teaching elementary education students since 2001. She earned an M.S. Ed. in Foundations of Education at NIU (2007), with a focus on philosophy with children; and a B.A. in Elementary Education at NIU (2001).

Dawn McCusker Dawn McCusker is currently working as a Gifted Specialist in a Talent Development Program. She provides weekly critical thinking enrichment classes for 400+ students.  As is a licensed Elementary Education teacher with ESL and Bilingual Endorsements, she works with students in general education and dual language programs. Dawn completed the IARSS Gifted Education Seminar courses in 2016 and is an English Language Learner & language acquisition consultant in the greater Chicago area. She earned an M.S. Ed. in Teaching and Leadership from Saint Xavier University (2002), and her B.A. in Education from NIU (1992).

Thanks to John Carmichael, Richland Texas Community College for sharing his idea of juggling for virtue at the 2007 NISOD International Conference on Teaching & Leadership Excellence.

Thanks to the undergraduate students and elementary school students who practiced the art of learning to juggle in the classroom and illustrated clear connections to the Illinois Social Emotional Learning Standards.  

Thanks to Neil Colwell, Jen Howard and NIU Division of Enrollment Management, Marketing and Communications for their help with the photos, video and website.

Special thanks to Principal Jeff Bragg for believing in the teachers and supporting their initiatives.