Frau Sabine Woerner (Director)
Frau Woerner was born in the Rhineland by Cologne and enjoyed traveling all over Europe as a kid with her family. She came to the US to improve her English and found a new path here. She studied to be a German teacher and has taught for many years now at high schools and colleges. She is a co-director and coordinates all the testing at our school. When not teaching she travels with her husband to visit her three kids on the East Coast or explore the rest of the country and world. Recently she added a new puppy to her life which keeps her extra busy.
Frau Kyoko Hallal (Teacher)
Frau Hallal was born in Germany and has lived in Japan and the United States. She grew up speaking German and Japanese and loves art, music, and traveling. Her son is a happy DANK student and loves the exposure to German. She is excited to be a new member of the DANK team.
Frau Thuy Radons (Teacher)
Frau Radons is from Flensburg in Schleswig-Holstein. She is fluent in German, Danish, and English. She has been with DANK for 12 years as a teacher and eleven years as the DANK accountant. Frau Radons taught/teaches Levels 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Recently, she also began teaching Adult Beginners and Adult Intermediate.
Frau Janine Sasso (Teacher)
Frau Sasso was born and raised in the Harz Mountain region in Germany and moved to Chicago in 2010. Both of her children have been with DANK since they turned three. She values the friendships and connections found within the DANK family. She loves hiking and camping with her family and during the week is found selling real estate in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago.
Frau Eva Schroeder (Teacher)
Eva was born in Bonn, Germany and is a German native speaker. As the child of a diplomat, she spent her formative years traveling and living in several European countries until she came to the US at age 14. Eva worked as a Paralegal and Ethics and Compliance specialist for 35 years until she retired in 2022. Eva is married and has 2 adult children. She loves travel and meeting people from different cultures. She also enjoys biking, cooking, and trying new cuisines.
Frau Birgit Schubert (Teacher)
Frau Schubert was born and raised in the Frankfurt area in Germany before moving to Chicago. She joined the DANK family nine years ago when her children started German school. She enjoys working with the students and teaching the German language and culture. She loves bike rides, reading, baking bread, and spending time with her family.
Frau Terry Smejkal (Teacher)
Frau Smejkal was born in the “Banat” (western German region of Romania) from where the family was resettled to Austria where she grew up. As a teenager she came to Chicago to join her uncles, aunts, and cousins. Her two daughters went through 8 years of D.A.N.K. in Arlington Heights. During their college years both had the opportunity to participate in internships in Linz. Frau Smejkal has taught at Wheeling H.S., Loyola Academy and New Trier H.S. and has been with D.A.N.K. for over twenty years and in her spare time she loves to read, travel, hike and spend time with her family.
Frau Katharina Thomas (Teacher)
Frau Thomas was born and raised in Marburg an der Lahn with a fairytale castle on a hill. She always had a passion for languages; besides German and English, she loves French. She’s been living with her family in Arlington Heights since 2008. She joined the DANK family as a parent in 2012 and is excited to teach 5th grade now in her third year. Her son has finished DANK with the B1 exam and her daughter is still attending. Frau Thomas loves dogs, big and small, the outdoors, and traveling.
Frau Susanna Ehrmann (Teacher)
Susanna is first-generation American, but spoke German before she spoke English. Her parents were from Vienna, Austria and wanted Susanna to grow up bilingual. That was the greatest gift they gave her. In college and graduate school she majored in French. She has taught German and French (near-native) for many years. Her students have ranged in age from small children to adults and every age in between. Outside of the classroom, Susanna enjoys reading (in all three languages), writing, photography, and sometimes also cooking. She traveled extensively with her late husband, but prefers book clubs and volunteer activities now. When she traveled, she learned how to say “thank you” in at least 15 languages!
Frau Mia Strandquist (Teacher)
Frau Strandquist was born in Honolulu, Hawaii and made her way to the Chicagoland area by the age of 7. She grew up with a love for learning and a passion for language. The last 4 years she has been a student at Elgin Community College under the teachings of Sabine Woerner and is excited to make the jump from learning to teaching. In her free time, Frau Strandquist enjoys reading, spending time with her wife and cat, and playing soccer.
Frau Ivy Wirsing (Teacher)
Frau Wirsing was born in the Philippines and has lived in Singapore and now the US. She grew up speaking three languages. She is married to Markus, from Salz, Germany and has studied German since 2011 to communicate with her in-laws. They have two kids and a dog together. She has homeschooled her kids for two years. She started with DANK as a parent, then as an adult student and now taking the opportunity to grow as a third grade German teacher. The Wirsing family loves to garden, go on hikes, downhill ski and travel.
Frau Violet Groll (Teacher)
Violet Groll was born and raised in the US and has spent her entire life surrounded by German culture. She began learning German in pre-school and has been a part of the DANK family since 2021, graduating with the B1 exam. After high school she plans to get her teaching degree specializing in early childhood education. She loves working with little learners and is extremely excited for this wonderful opportunity.
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