Chicago Science Coordinator Passionate About Working With Kids
Marc Hans holds a B.S. in elementary education from Illinois State University and M.S in Science Education Leadership from the Illinois Institute of Technology. Marc's career has seen impactful and creative work as a public school teacher, social entrepreneur and design thinker. As an educator, he proudly served students and communities in Normal and Chicago, where he received the DRIVE Teacher and Golden Apple Awards.
Hans is the founder of the scienceFIST Foundation, which seeks to improve the quality of STEM education for teachers and students in Chicago. He currently serves Elgin School District U-46 as their K through 12 science coordinator, where he oversees curriculum development, professional development, out of school time STEM efforts, and work with schools to improve practice. Hans is passionate about working with people to identify challenges and lead the facilitation of innovative, human centered solutions. He has an organic nature to connect people across diverse backgrounds and sectors to help them solve challenges.
What are the responsibilities of your current role?
"My current role allows me to impact 55 schools serving over 42,000 students through the development of curriculum and assessments, professional development and working with schools to meet the diverse needs of the their stakeholders. This role necessitates keeping up to date with current trends in practices, a keen knowledge of curriculum development and the ability to lead the facilitation of large groups of teachers."
What is your favorite part of your daily duties?
"I enjoy leading teams through complex problem solving, ideation, brainstorming and design thinking. Helping people unleash their creativity to solve problems energizes me. Schools and school districts face many diverse challenges and I see these as opportunities for creation of exciting new solutions."
Do you feel your education prepared you for your current role?
"A lot of the work I currently perform is no doubt built upon the knowledge, skills and experience gained as a classroom teacher. Much of my day-to-day work has been learned on the job and as an adult as I continue to grow as a professional. I tend to work among all members of our organization including classroom teachers, parents, administrators, board and cabinet members, and I feel having experienced many of these roles in my career has prepared me to see the work through their lens."
Do you have any advice for people who desire to pursue a similar career?
"District level work is very behind-the-scenes and takes you away from the students. My advice to people seeking a similar career is to analyze your strengths and make sure your role capitalizes on those strengths."
Michelle Guilbeau is a writer, reviewer, teacher and business owner living in Chicago, Illinois. She also has experience in school administration, literacy coaching and is proud founder of CraftKitsForKids.com and MichelleGuilbeau.com Michelle enjoys sharing her knowledge of Chicago, food, travel, education and parenting issues with her readers. Her work can be found on Examiner.com.
