H-F tenure photos 2022
Local News

Six H-F faculty members granted tenure


The District 233 school board granted tenure to six teachers at Homewood-Flossmoor High School at its April 5 meeting.

Tenure is awarded to teachers after four years as a probationary teacher. Ashley Alex, Jennifer Byrd, Alyssa Marassa, John McCarthy, Ted Venegas and Tiffany White were recognized for tenure.

In a letter to the teachers, Superintendent Von Mansfield said tenure tells “students and parents of the district that your total impact on your students and colleagues has been carefully appraised and that you have our complete endorsement as a permanent member of this faculty. We would also hope and expect that the real significance of this new status would be an even greater commitment on your part to H-F, bringing about learning in each student no matter what his/her ability with your own strong determination to preserve and improve the quality of the entire education effort and program at H-F.”

Ashley Alex has taught all levels of Algebra I and PreCalculus honors. She also is a faculty member working with clubs and extracurriculars, including Anime Club, Operation Snowball and Mu Alpha Theta, the math honors society.

Prior to joining the H-F faculty, Alex taught at Bloom Township and Rich South High Schools. She has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics education from Illinois State University, and a master’s in mathematics teaching from DePaul University.

Jennifer Byrd is a special education teacher in health and in the H-F Study Lab. Before coming to H-F, she worked at Oswego East High School for five years.

Byrd has a bachelor’s degree in recreation, sport and tourism with sport management concentration from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a master’s degree in kinesiology and physical education with an emphasis on physical education pedagogy from Northern Illinois University. She also has an endorsement in health, as well as special education.

Alyssa Marassa is teaching culinary and clothing construction in the Career & Technical Education Department. H-F is her first teaching position.

Marassa has a bachelor’s degree in family and consumer science teacher education from Illinois State University, and a master’s degree in family and consumer science from Eastern Illinois University.

John McCarthy is a school counselor in the Student Services Department. He also serves as the Viking baseball coach. Before joining the H-F faculty, he worked for six years at Brother Rice High School in Chicago.

McCarthy received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and a master’s degree from Lewis University.

Ted Venegas teaches U.S. history and also Theory of Knowledge in the International Baccalaureate curriculum. Since 2009, he had various appointments, including full-time substitute and other school positions, before joining H-F.

Venegas received a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Southern California and a master’s degree in secondary education from St. Xavier University. He has a J.D. degree from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.

Tiffany White teaches Algebra and an introductory course to the field of engineering. She also serves as head of the chess team and assistant coach to the H-F Scholastic Bowl team.

Before starting a teaching career, she worked for 12 years in the construction industry. She is a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional (LEED AP). She was a mathematics adjunct instructor for a community college before becoming a seventh grade math teacher. After several years, she transitioned to a position at H-F.

White has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Michigan State University, a master’s degree in construction management from Eastern Michigan University, and is working on a second master’s degree in mathematics at Governors State University.

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