Mrs. Tracy Lockenour
President/CEO

Mrs. Lockenour and her family founded Eastside Educational Center, Inc. in May 2002 as a quality care environment, providing developmentally appropriate curriculum to families at a reasonable cost. Tracy is an a grant writer, aspiring author, and first and foremost, a stay-at-home mom to her four children. 
 

Mrs. Becky Steinlage
Administrator

Mrs. Steinlage graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Central College in Pella, Iowa. Mrs. Steinlage joined EEC in September 2008 as Assistant Director and a lead teacher in the Jungle Room (one of our preschool classrooms).  Her work experience includes marketing, public relations, web design/management.
Mrs. Steinlage's son is a student at Eastside Educational Center; she and her family live outside of Mackinaw.

Mrs. Tina Denny
Evening Director, Twos/Threes Co-Lead Teacher

Miss Tina graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in both French and International Business from Illinois State University. She is currently attending ISU part time, pursuing her Teaching Certificate and Master's Degree in French. Miss Tina has been a teacher with EEC since October 2006, and lives in Mackinaw with her husband and two sons.

Mrs. Donna Frey
04 Certified Part-Day Preschool Teacher

Mrs. Frey graduated with a Master's Degree in Early Childhood Education from Governor's State University, and has been employed with EEC since September 2008. She lives in Canton with her husband and five sons.

Mrs. Samantha Phillippe
04 Certified Full-Day Preschool Teacher

Miss Samantha graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Early Childhood Education from Eastern Illinois University, and has been employed with EEC since January 2010. 

Mrs. Tara Schroeder
Infant/Toddler Co-Lead Teacher

Miss Tara graduated with an Associates Degree in Child Development from, and has been employed with EEC since December 2009. She has over 12 years of experience caring for children! Tara and her three children recently moved to Mackinaw.

Miss Kari Nelson
Infant/Toddler Co-Lead Teacher

Miss Kari (and her twins!) joined EEC in March 2009, as a co-lead teacher in our Infant/Toddler Room. Since, Miss Kari has taken over the lead position in our Infant/Todds and uses her past years of daycare experience in creating a fabulous curriculum for our youngest children!
Miss Kari holds an Associates in Arts & Science Degree from Illinois Central College.

Miss Sharon Faughn
Twos/Threes Co-Lead Teacher/
After School Lead Teacher

Miss Sharon joined EEC in August 2009 as our After-School Program Lead Teacher, and has now begun also teaching our twos and threes! Miss Sharon enjoys teaching all age-groups and is currently in her last semester at Illinois Central College, finishing her Associates Degree in Child Development.

Mrs. Janet Armbrust
Assistant Teacher, Preschool

Miss Janet joined EEC in May 2007, and brings 20 years of experience working with children in daycares. She has worked with all ages at EEC, and now assists in our preschool classrooms.
Miss Janet graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Fine Arts from Illinois State University, with concentrations in Illustration and Visual Communication. She is a published Illustrator, and when she's not teaching children at EEC, Miss Janet works independently, creating children's educational workbooks.
Miss Janet lives in Heritage Lake with her husband and three children. 

Sensei Kim Evans
Karate Instructor

Kim Evans is the Mackinaw facility manager and assistant karate instructor for Mackinaw Valley Karate and Fitness Center. Kim has a great deal of experience working with preschool and school-age children and holds a 2nd Degree Black Belt in traditional Shotokan Karate. She is one of Mackinaw Valley Karate's most experienced youth karate instructors.
 

Mrs. Lori Hoffman
Tumblebus & Boogiebus Instructor

Miss Lori joined EEC in June 2009 as a Tumbling and Dance instructor for our School-Age Summer Camp program. Miss Lori is the owner and lead instructor of Lori's Tumblebus and Boogiebus, and offers tumbling and dance to children aged 2 and up on her infamous tumbling and dance buses!

Miss Lori drives her buses to EEC one per week to provide tumbling and dance instruction to students while at daycare.

Miss Stephanie Hahn
Assistant Teacher, Preschool

Miss Steph is an EMT-B licensed volunteer for the City of Mackinaw. She is currently taking classes at ICC, pursuing a degree in Radiography. Miss Steph joined the EEC staff in September 2008, but her daughter has been a student at EEC since she was a newborn!
 

Miss Erika Turpin
Admin Assistant/Assistant Teacher

Miss Erika recently graduated from Dee-Mack High School. She has been employed at EEC since September 2007, assisting in many of our classrooms. Miss Erika plans to further her education in the childcare field  by attending college while working full-time at EEC.
Miss Erika was recently moved to the new position of Administrative Assistant, assisting families, preparing meals for our children, and answering phone calls at our front desk.
 

Miss Lauren Dinkheller
Substitute Lead Teacher

Miss Lauren joined EEC in October 2007. She has taught our preschool and school-age children, and is now looking forward to completing a degree in Special Education (learning and behavior) from Illinois State University. Miss Lauren will be substitute teaching at EEC this Fall while attending ISU full-time. She currently lives in Bloomington.