Janelle Reese

Learning Specialist

BA, Purdue University
MEd, DePaul University

Janelle has more than 16 years of classroom experience, as both an educator and learning specialist. Having earned her Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education from Purdue University, she moved to Chicago from Indiana. Her first position was teaching 3rd-4th grades in Flossmoor School District 161. She next taught 5th grade and coached the 5th and 6th grade girls’ basketball teams at The Frances Xavier Warde School (FXW) in downtown Chicago. During this time, she earned a Master’s of Education in Reading and Learning Disabilities from DePaul University. Janelle then stepped away from teaching to be a stay-at-home-mom. She volunteered in the classroom, organized and oversaw FXW’s auctions, and was her daughter’s Girl Scout troop leader for 12 years. In 2016, Janelle returned to the classroom as an adjunct instructor at Wolcott and has been in her current position as Learning Specialist since January 2017. Since then, she has also earned two certificates: Learning Differences and Neurodiversity (LDN) with a specialization in Executive Function from Landmark College; and Universal Design for Learning from the University of Pennslyvania’s Graduate School of Education. She recently received a grant through CPS to create an executive function skills curriculum for Wolcott’s Learning Specialists. Janelle is a proponent of having a flexible mindset and applies the latest research and best practices to promote student achievement. When not in the classroom, Janelle enjoys coaching Wolcott’s JV boys basketball team and spending time with family and friends.