Meet the Team
The Department of Personalized Learning is comprised of a group of talented and dedicated staff members and school-based instructional leads.
Our team members have on average, 11 years of experience in education, 7 years of teaching or counseling experience, and over 37 years of experience coaching educators. Collectively, we have served every grade and subject in K-12 education and been on staff at over 50 schools in Chicago and beyond.
Explore below to learn more about the members of our team or connect with them by clicking on their picture.
Our team members have on average, 11 years of experience in education, 7 years of teaching or counseling experience, and over 37 years of experience coaching educators. Collectively, we have served every grade and subject in K-12 education and been on staff at over 50 schools in Chicago and beyond.
Explore below to learn more about the members of our team or connect with them by clicking on their picture.
BIO
Errika Baker is the Director of Personalized Learning for Chicago Public Schools. Prior to joining the PL Team, Errika served for nearly four years as the principal at University of Chicago Charter School - Donoghue Campus. During her tenure as principal, she led her school through a personalized learning redesign process and was a Breakthrough Schools Award Winner. In preparation for a principalship, Errika was a resident principal and received leadership training and certification through New Leaders for New Schools. Prior to the becoming a school principal, Errika served for four years as the program director of Suder Montessori, one of three public Montessori schools in Chicago, where she was previously a founding staff member and preK-3rd grade instructor. Before beginning her teaching career at Poe Classical School, she worked as a HR consultant for PriceWaterhouse Coopers. Errika is a product of CPS as she graduated from the Murray Elementary and Kenwood High School magnet and gifted programs. She is a native Chicago South Side resident, where she was born and raised. |
BIO
Brittany Guy is the Manager of Personalized Learning for Chicago Public Schools. Most recently, she served as the Program Manager for Personalized Learning for Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools in North Carolina, leading the development and implementation of the program with a goal to leverage personalized learning to create equitable learning experiences across the district. In her years of experience teaching, coaching, and leading, Brittany has focused on building relationships and providing the individual support needed to grow each learner. As a teacher, she was selected for the NC Governor’s Teacher Network, spending a year engaged in action research focused on personalized professional learning. More recently, she served North Carolina as a PL Champion in the development of the state plan for scaling the personalized learning approach, providing support for districts across the state. She is excited to combine her previous experience with new learning in CPS to effectively support educators in Chicago. |
BIO
Samantha Semrow serves as the Coordinator of Personalized Learning for CPS. A former college counselor at two high-need, majority first-generation high schools in the Chicagoland area, she has returned home to Chicago after earning a master’s degree in Education Policy and Management from Harvard University. Her passion for educational advocacy is focused on empowering learners regardless of and in response to their environment as well as improving systemic structures that create or hinder opportunities for students and their communities. She is a perpetual analyzer and avid researcher of anything and everything. |
Lydia DiSabatinoData Analyst
BIO
Lydia DiSabatino is the Data Analyst for Personalized Learning (PL) at CPS. Prior to joining the team, she completed her PhD and MA in Sociology at Indiana University. The daughter and granddaughter of teachers, Lydia drew on this background to guide her focus on education policy during her graduate studies. Her research centered around two main areas: how top-down policies filter through large organizations, and the role of non-state actors in education policy development and promotion. While at IU, she worked on designing several research projects that gathered original nationwide data, honing her skills in both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Lydia is excited to be working on PL and other programs in the district that will help empower and support both teachers and students. |
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Laura KessingerInstructional Leader
BIO
Laura, a native San Diegan, began her teaching and leading career in CPS is 2007. She is a middle school specialist with endorsements in all core instructional areas, teaching at schools on both the west and south side. After teaching for six years she sought to deepen her impact across Chicago becoming an instructional coach for Teach for America, for three years she coached and mentored first and second year teachers strengthening instruction and SEL practices across the city. Then seeking to deepen her content knowledge she accepted a high school leadership position at CICS Ellison in the Auburn-Gresham neighborhood. There she served as the instructional coach for the math and science departments, creating and leading the direction for innovative STEM instruction. She also created a Computer Science program for the school. Laura has a strong belief in CPS students and communities. She is especially passionate about middle grades curriculum, instruction, and access to rigorous and relevant math, technology, and science experiences. |
Laura MassierSEL Specialist
BIO
Laura Massier began her career in education as a Golden Apple Scholar, shadowing and assisting in Chicago Public Schools immediately following her high school graduation. After earning her degree in Elementary Education at Illinois State University, Laura taught 4th grade for two years near her hometown of Machesney Park, IL. Missing Chicago, she applied to Walt Disney Magnet School where she taught a variety of grade levels, predominantly third grade, where she also served as a team leader. After earning a master’s degree in School Counseling, she accepted a position as case manager and school counselor at John C. Coonley Elementary. Laura has always been interested in how to best support individuals with disabilities, and during her time at Coonley, she chose to return to the classroom as an inclusion teacher while she finished her Ed.D. in Special Education. As a SEL Specialist for the Department of Personalized Learning, Laura is excited to work with schools in developing lifelong learners who have the necessary skills to take on 21st century challenges. |
Kai MurrayInstructional Leader
BIO
Humility, agency and commitment to lifelong learning have anchored Kai’s tenure with Chicago Public Schools as a student and teacher. Prior to her role as Instructional Leader, Kai taught grades 1st-5th grades on the south and west side of Chicago for 14 years. She has also served as a mentor-resident coach training new teachers for AUSL for 6 years. Her entry to education started as a Golden Apple Scholar of Illinois. She was part of the 1st statewide class of 60 scholars which helped her to obtain a Bachelor’s in Education from Illinois State University. She also holds masters degrees in Educational Leadership and Curriculum and Instruction from the American College of Education. Kai is excited to collaborate with schools teams as they implement the personalized learning model that meets the needs of all stakeholders, and ensures that all students have viable post-secondary options. |
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Emily ShoresInstructional Leader
BIO
Emily Shores entered the field of education as a Teach For America Corps Member, teaching Pre-K at Gresham School of Excellence on Chicago’s Auburn Gresham neighborhood. She completed her Masters of Science in Early Childhood Education and English as a Second Language Endorsement through Dominican University in 2016. Emily spent the following summer as an LRTT (Limited Resource Teacher Training) fellow, coaching and providing high-quality teacher training to educators in Ghana. Emily returned to Ghana as a LRTT team leader, recruiting, preparing, and supporting a team of 24 fellows to facilitate sustainable professional development for over 150 primary teachers in Ghana. Emily continues to advocate for educational equity as a Personalized Learning Instructional Leader for Chicago Public Schools. |