Miss Dix grew up in Wilmette, and attended St. Joseph's School and New Trier High School. She received her Bachelor's Degree in Education from The University of Kansas, and spent a fifth year taking Masters courses and completing an extended student teaching assignment. She worked for nine years at St. Norbert's School in Northbrook where she taught three years of preschool and six years of third grade. In 2001, Miss Dix joined the Wilmette Public Schools as a third grade teacher at Romona Elementary School. In 2007, she transferred to Harper Elementary and it's been her home ever since. At some point among all those years, she earned a Masters Degree in Education with a focus on literacy. Her favorite subjects to teach are writing and social studies. Miss Dix enjoys drawing, reading, and baking. She feels lucky to have a loving family and many close friends.

Kelly received her undergraduate degree in Elementary Education from The University of Illinois at Chicago...go Flames! She received her Master's Degree in Curriculum & Instruction and her English Language Learners endorsement from Concordia University. In addition to being a classroom teacher, she has also enjoyed being an Instructional Coach for her 3rd and 4th grade colleagues in Chicago.  After teaching grades 1-4 in Chicago for 21 years, she made the move to teach 3rd grade at Harper. Third graders hold a special place in her heart, and she is looking forward to supporting students in her third year at Harper.  When she's not focusing on school, you can find her spending time with her children, gardening, baking, and traveling. 

Emma Russell has loved being a Harper dolphin on the 4th grade team since 2020.  Her education background began at Knox College where she studied Elementary Education and English Literature.  Then she received a Master of Arts in Differentiated Instruction through Concordia University Chicago.  She has a particular fondness for fourth grade because that was a life changing age for her.  That was when she started cello lessons, and has found exploring music in all capacities to be a lifelong source of joy ever since.  You can expect to see the incorporation of music, movement, creativity, and humor in all learning experiences in her classroom!  She is really looking forward to a phenomenal year of learning and laughing with Harper students!