I am extremely excited to be teaching here at HMS.  I was born and raised in Highland, and I am looking forward to be working with kids in my hometown.  I earned my education degree in 2015 during my second stint in college.  We have three children named Payton, Nolan, and Retta.  I enjoy playing sports, reading, board games, comics, and geeking out with sci-fi movies and shows.

Mr. Chris Frey 

Social Studies 

cfrey@highlandcusd5.org 

  Mrs. Haas received a Bachelor of Science degree in Sports Management with an emphasis in Athletic Training from SBU in 2002 and her teaching certificate in 2023. For the past 18 years, I have served the Wesclin community in various capacities as their Athletic Trainer, substitute teacher and PE Teachers Aide. She lives in Trenton with her husband Mark, and 3 sons, Adam (17), Noah (14) and Judah (6). In her free time, she enjoys watching her sons events and activities, gardening, reading, traveling and serving in her church. 

Mrs. Valerie Haas

 PE Teacher

vhaas@highlandcusd5.org                                            

I grew up in many different areas with my father being in the Air Force, and I am now settled in Glen Carbon with my beautiful wife and two kids Claire and Leon. I have taught middle school science for 10 years, and received my degree in Earth and Space Science from SIUE. I love how science can help us understand the complexity of the world through fun and engaging ways! My hope is to motivate and challenge students to a higher level of thinking that will help prepare them for life. My other passions include spending time with my family, working out, and playing all sorts of different games! 

Mr. Jon Truitt

Science

jtruitt@highlandcusd5.org

I am thrilled to be teaching Language Arts for your 6th grade student. This will be my 11th year teaching. I live here in Highland with my husband, 2 kiddos, and 2 pups. I am a huge fan of history and traveling. My family lived in Italy the last three years where we traveled to over 27 different countries. I love to work with technology so you will find me incorporating new and exciting platforms throughout our ELA curriculum. I look forward to building our reading and writing skills this year.

Courtney Taylor

Language Arts

cotaylor@highlandcusd5.org 

This is my first year at Highland Middle School and my 21st in education!  I'm thrilled to be here!  Outside of school, I live in Glen Carbon with my husband, our two awesome kids, and our goofy bulldogs, Gerti and Gus. My daughter is a junior at Edwardsville High School, and my son is a 6th grader at Lincoln Middle School—so I get to see middle school life from both sides! When I’m not teaching, you’ll probably find me outside soaking up the sunshine, working in the yard or cheering loudly at softball and baseball games. I also love rolling up my sleeves for woodworking projects and dreaming up new interior design ideas.

pstraub@highlandcusd5.org