KINGS
Consolidated school district 144
A FAMILY OF LEARNING
Staff Directory & Profiles
Jodi Horn - District Administrative Assistant
Mrs. Horn has been working at Kings School for nine wonderful years. She lives in Kings, Illinois with her family. Her and her husband Keith operate a grain and cattle farm in Kings. Both of her sons, Zeke and Ty, were Kings Comets and she has a lot of Comet pride. In her spare time Mrs. Horn likes to go UTV riding in Wisconsin with her family or relax on the beach somewhere.
Nina Croke - School Administrator & Special Education Teacher
Mrs. Croke has been working at Kings for 10 years as a special education teacher and is now a building administrator too. She received her bachelors in education from Saint Ambrose University and then got a masters in Educational Leadership from Aurora University. Mrs. Croke lives in Byron with her husband Sean and their daughter Nora. In her free time she likes to golf with family and loves vacationing to Walt Disney World.
Maylissa Crobbe - Kindergarten
Mrs. Crobbe is a second year educator who started her career at Kings at the start of the 2022-2023 school year. She graduated with a bachelors in elementary education and an endorsement in early childhood education from Western Illinois University. Mrs. Crobbe lives in Maple Park with her husband Ben, and their dog Stallone.
Susan Hunter - 1st Grade
Ms. Hunter has been a teacher at Kings for her entire 32 year career. She graduated from Northern Illinois University with her bachelors in education. She obtained a masters in curriculum and instruction from Aurora University. Ms. Hunter lives in Byron. She has twins, Vance and Maggie, who are grown up and both in college now. They are the best!
Alyssa O’Dell - 2nd Grade
Mrs. O'Dell has been a teacher for six years and the last five of them have been here at Kings School. She obtained a bachelors in elementary education from Northern Illinois University. She lives in Davis Junction with her husband Alex, and their two children, Hailey and Ryder. They also have two dogs, Ruby and Remington, and two cats, Oakley and Diesel. Her and her husband Alex enjoy going to comedy shows whenever they can.
Melissa Ost -3rd Grade
Mrs. Ost has been teaching for 26 years. She has been working at Kings as a third grade teacher for seven years. Mrs. Ost obtained her bachelors in elementary education from Northern Illinois University. She lives in Rochelle with her husband and has three kids, Kaitlynn, Madison, and Jacob.
Tammy Greene -4th Grade
Miss Greene has been teaching for 34 years and all of those years have been at Kings School. She has a bachelors in education from Northern Illinois University and a masters in political science from there as well. Miss Greene lives in Dekalb, Illinois but she grew up in the Quad Cities. She likes to travel and especially likes visiting museums and battlefields. She has been to 48 out of the 50 states and only has Alaska and Nevada left to visit.
Vanessa Hopp - 5th Grade
Mrs. Hopp has been working in education for 13 years and five of them have been here at Kings. She has a bachelors in communications from Northern Illinois University. Her masters in elementary education is from Western Governors University. She lives in Byron with her kids Colton and Kiera. She enjoys kayaking, scrapbooking, and watching her kids play sports.
Jason Hickman - Middle School Math & Science
Mr. Hickman has been teaching for 12 years and the last five of those years have been at Kings. He graduated from Quincy University with a business management degree and then went to Northern Illinois University for his math education degree. Mr. Hickman lives in Byron with his wife, Theresa, and his three kids, Jacob, Andrew, and Lauren. Mr. Hickman is also a great coach. He coaches our boys and girls basketball teams along with the Rochelle Hubs freshman baseball team.
Steven Steiner - Middle School ELA & Social Studies
Mr. Steiner has been in education for five years and has been working at Kings for four of those years. He graduated from Rockford University and has teaching endorsements in history and English. Mr. Steiner also recently became Google Educator Certified. He lives in Rockford with his wife Sarah, and their dog Theodore.
Hannah Anderson - PE/Health & Science
Miss Anderson has been working at Kings for a year and a half as a PE teacher. She went to Rock Valley College for her associates degree where she was also a national champion softball player. She then attended Northern Illinois University for her bachelors of science in physical education and health education. She lives in Belvidere with her boyfriend Bo, their cat Louie and dog Chase.
Kim Dewey - RTI & Middle School ELA
Mrs. Dewey has been a teacher for 28 years and has worked at Kings for 26 of them. She went to Eastern Illinois University for her bachelors degree in elementary education and Rockford University for her masters in reading. She lives in Hillcrest with her husband Kevin. Her and her husband enjoy going on motorcycle rides together. They are "empty-nesters" with two adult children. Mrs. Dewey especially enjoys the changing of the seasons and the beauty of the fall time leaves.
Amy Eldred - Library & Art
Mrs. Eldred has been working at Kings for four years. Her career in education started at Kings and she was brought on as support staff during the pandemic. Now she is our wonderful librarian and art teacher. She lives in Kings with her husband Rick, her 21 year old daughter, Hannah, and her 10 year old daughter, Sofie. They have a dog name Shaw. In her spare time Mrs. Eldred likes traveling to fun places with her husband and kids.
Rich Pelka - Maintenance & Transportation Director
Mr. Pelka has been keeping the Kings School building in tip top shape since 2018. He drives the bus and takes care of the building and grounds with pride. He lives in Kings with his wife Sandy. They have three adult children and in their free time they like to go cruising in their Jeep.