About Mr. Callahan

Our Vision

Guiding Students, Molding Leaders, Strengthening Minds

Our Mission

We are a student-centered community striving to create life-long learners, effective communicators, self-starters, and successful collaborators.

Welcome to the 2021-2022 school year. I am extremely excited to have you in my class!

This is my 8th year of teaching and my sixth in the Ball-Chatham School District. In my previous years of teaching, I taught in the Decatur Public School District. In my first year, I taught 3rd grade at Dennis Lab School and I was asked the following year to move up and teach middle school mathematics, language arts, and two blocks of Project-Based Learning. As much as I loved teaching at my previous school, I consider Chatham my home and I am honored to be given the opportunity to teach in the Ball-Chatham School District!

I grew up in Springfield, Illinois, and attended the parochial school St. Cabrini from kindergarten to 4th grade and St. Joseph from 5th to 8th grade. I then moved out to Chatham with my family at age 14 and completed my Freshman through Senior years at Glenwood High School. I graduated from GHS in 2006. Following high school, I worked +30 hours a week to attend Lincoln Land Community College as a full-time student. I acquired my Associate's Degree in Elementary Education from LLCC in 2008. Next, I attended Benedictine University in Springfield, IL for one semester. I did not enjoy their program and took the spring semester off to regroup and apply to other colleges. In the fall of 2009, I began taking classes at Illinois State University and continued to work to pay for college. I obtained my Bachelor of Science in Education from Illinois State University in the fall of 2013. It was at ISU where I met my lovely wife, Sara, who is a teacher at Rochester Intermediate School. Currently, we live in Springfield, IL and we had our first child in June 2020. I love playing ice hockey, soccer, video games, and listening to music.

I am an open book and love connecting with my students, so please feel free to come to me with any questions, concerns, or personal news you would like to share. I am so excited to call GMS my home! I am even more excited to be able to teach STEAM. As a kid, I was always building Lego, K'nex, and Erector Sets, tearing apart electronics and trying to put them back together, and messing with the settings and ultimately breaking my parents' computer. I have always had an inquisitive mind and I hope to foster that love of learning and growth in you! We are going to have a great year together!

Sincerely,

Mr. Steven Callahan

Teaching History

Teaching History - 8 years

Chatham Public Schools - 6 years

2020 - Present - Middle School STEAM Teacher

2019 - 2020 - 2nd Grade Teacher

2016 - 2019 - 4th Grade Teacher

Decatur Public Schools - 2 years

2015 - 2016 - Middle School Mathematics, Language Arts and Project Based Learning

2014 - 2015 - 3rd Grade Teacher

Degree and Certification

Illinois State University Fall of 2013

Middle School Teacher Education (K-9 Certified)

Endorsed in Language Arts and Mathematics

Mr. Callahan's Schedule