Hi! I am Carly Heinking, a fifth grade teacher here at Duker School. The 2025/2026 school year marks my tenth year at Duker, and my twelfth year of teaching overall.  I attended Roosevelt University, where I graduated with my Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education with a concentration in Psychology.

My absolute favorite subject is English Language Arts, and I love teaching children to love reading as well.

In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my husband and three children.

I truly love being a teacher and I am so grateful to be here at Duker with your children each and every day!

My name is Michele Flaherty. I have taught for many years. I started out teaching at Richmond Grade School, then I spent many years at Riverwood School, and now I call Duker my home!  I have enjoyed teaching kindergarten through fourth grade. In my free time, I enjoy reading, boating, and spending time with my family. I have 2 children, my son is an engineer who lives in Texas, and my daughter teaches in Chicago. I love to watch the Bears, Blackhawks, and Cubs with my husband.

Hi! My name is Samantha Parquette (formerly known as Zimmerman), and I am so excited to be a fifth-grade teacher here at Duker! I graduated from Northern Illinois University in 2024 with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. While this is my first year teaching, I previously worked as an Interventionist in a different district. I’m super excited to now be working in District 15 and at Duker!

I grew up in Crystal Lake, but I recently moved to McHenry in January. Outside of school, I love exploring the town. I also enjoy reading, traveling, and spending time with my husband and our 6-month-old German Shepherd, Maverick.

I’m looking forward to the 2025–2026 school year and teaching your children!

Hi! My name is Alexis Atwater, and this is my second year teaching 5th grade at Duker. Before coming to Duker, I taught in Crystal Lake for three years, which is also where I did my student teaching. While I have not been teaching here long, I am no stranger to the district-- I was a student at Hilltop, Duker, and MMS. In my free time, I enjoy traveling, reading, and going to Sox games. My parents and siblings still live in McHenry, and I am thrilled to be teaching in the community where I live and grew up!

Hi, my name is Sarah Nowak and I am starting my 4th year as a Special Education Teacher here as a proud Duker Dragon. I have my Bachelors Degree in Communication from Eastern Illinois University, my Masters in Education from DePaul University and my LBS1 Special Education Certification from University of Illinois at Springfield. For the past 20 years I have also coached high school speech, most recently the past 10 years at Cary-Grove High School. I love museums, documentaries, trivia and all things general knowledge. I also enjoy traveling and just having a ton of fun with my family. I am so excited to work with all of the students at Duker and have another Dragon-rific year!!!

Bio Coming Soon!

This is my 25th year teaching 5th grade in District 15. I taught my first year at Landmark, then moved to Duker when it opened as a 4/5 building. I've been here ever since! I have a Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education from Illinois State University (Go Redbirds!), and a Master's degree in Educational Leadership from Aurora University. For as long as I can remember, I've always loved working with kids.

I'm Alyson Makowski and this will be my 22nd year in education! District 15 has been home to me since I attended school here as a child. After graduating from the University of Iowa, I was fortunate enough to start my teaching career here too! I've taught 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th and I have to admit that 5th grade is my favorite grade to teach.  

I live in Huntley with my husband Phil and our two blessings; Maizie our 3 1/2 year old “three-nager” and our 1 year old daredevil son Roman. This summer we adopted a new dog, Morris, who is an 8 month old pitty/mastiff/bulldog mix and is our protective, lovable goofball.

Outside of school, I love spending time with family and friends going to the movies, playing cards, grilling out and watching football. We are a divided house when it comes to football since my family are diehard Packer fans while my husband's family are lifelong Bears fans! You can also find me working summers at Redtail Golf Club in Lakewood, which I’ve loved doing for the past 10 years.