Joy de los Santos

Joy de los Santos has been in the field of special education for nearly 20 years. She received a Bachelors in Special Education from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Masters in Early Childhood Education with Special Education Approval from Governors State University, and her Masters in Education Administration from Concordia University Chicago. She has taught every grade from early childhood through high school in both district and cooperative settings. Joy became involved in instructional coaching 3 years ago when she was tasked with helping to set up a team of coaches at the special education cooperative where she currently works. In 3 years that team has grown exponentially and supports classrooms within our cooperative as well as in each of our 9 member districts. She has seen the impact coaches have on teachers working with students who have, or are suspected of having, a disability, and it has become a significant focus in her career. Joy lives in Bourbonnais, IL with her husband, daughter, dog (S’Mores), and 2 hermit crabs (Te Fiti and CooCoo2).