Meet the teachers

From left, Betsy Lewis, Pat Vidlak, Pam Foelske, Denise Fahrer,
Cheryl Mueller, Debbie Parrington and Diane Upton.

Pat Vidlak is a Batavia Nursery School Co-Director and has been teaching at Batavia Nursery School since 1994. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from Northwest Missouri State University. She currently teaches 3- and 4-year-olds, and has taught Kindergarten in Batavia Public Schools. All three of her children are BNS alumni.


		Betsy Lewis is a Batavia Nursery School Co-Director and has been teaching at Batavia Nursery School since 1999. She has a Bachelor's degree from Glassboro State College in Special Education. Prior teaching experience includes substituting in elementary schools and teaching art to 3- to 12-year-olds. She currently teaches the Pre-Kindergarten class.


Diane Upton has been teaching at Batavia Nursery School since 1998. She has a Bachelor of Science in Art Education from Northern Illinois University, and over 30 semester hours of graduate work in Art and in Education. She has taught at all different age levels, but has found a "niche" with 3- and 4-year-olds. She is an alumni parent, as both of her children attended BNS.


		Pam Foelske has been teaching at Batavia Nursery School since 2001. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education with an emphasis in Music from Wartburg College. She taught Kindergarten and Pre-Kindergarten and was a substitute teacher in the Batavia School District for 7 years. She is an alumni parent, as all three of her children attended BNS.


Cheryl Mueller has been teaching at Batavia Nursery School since 2007. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from Lewis University. She taught 1st grade and coached both volleyball and softball at Riverside-Brookfield High School for five years. She is an alumni parent, as all three of her children attended BNS.


		Denise Fahrer moved to Batavia from Cincinnati several years ago. She has two grown children. Denise received a Bachelor of Science degree in Speech & Hearing from the University of Cincinnati. She taught 2-, 3- and 4-year-olds for 12 years before relocating to Illinois. Denise began subbing at BNS and also taught ABC Adventure Classes before being hired as a teacher in the fall of 2009.


Debbie Parrington is the mother of two BNS alumni who are now elementary school students. She has a Master's degree in Education from National-Louis University and has been a long- term sub at several elementary schools in Batavia and Geneva. She has also tutored students from Kindergarten to eighth grade. Debbie began subbing for BNS and teaching Enrichment Classes prior to being hired as a teacher for the 2009 school year.