Kathy Gilles is a 2024-2025 Teach Plus Illinois Early Childhood Educator Policy Fellow and kindergarten teacher at Wilder-Waite Grade School in Peoria, Illinois. She is a member of the Behavior Intervention Strategies Team (BIST) at her school, which supports teachers with student behavior modification strategies. Kathy has served on her district’s Curriculum Council and her school’s Instructional Leadership Team. She started as a preschool teacher and director and worked in partnership with the Illinois Migrant Head Start Project for 12 years before becoming a kindergarten teacher. She holds a MEd in reading from Augustana University and MEd in education policy, organization, and leadership. Kathy has an English as a second language endorsement, and is currently finishing an administrator’s endorsement from the University of Illinois. She is also in the doctoral program in education policy, organization, and leadership with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion at the University of Illinois.
