Meet the Librarian

Hi there.

I'm Chanda Lyons, Washington's School Librarian. I started working at Washington during the 2023-2024 school year.

Prior to Washington, I was mostly a mom for several years.  However, I have also been a substitute teacher, a school counselor, and a Spanish teacher.  Before living in Illinois, I lived in Washington state and California.

My first goals every year are to learn everyone's name and also something about every student's reading life. People's reading lives fascinate me. In my own reading life, I especially like magical realism (think it could really happen with a magical twist). I typically read fiction (mainly kids' chapter books!) and listen to nonfiction audiobooks. I'm also a podcast girl. I love human interest stories and current events podcasts.

In my free time, I like to walk and play with my labrador retriever, Cash. Cash is a licensed therapy dog and goes to high school every day with my husband, who is a teacher too. We have four children: a firefighter, a graphic artist, and two kids still in college. Of course I like to read, but I also enjoy travel, live music, and DIY projects. 

Yes, that's an old fashioned card catalog in my picture. It's originally from the University of Illinois. It's my favorite piece of furniture. I use every single drawer for storage. One drawer even has the original catalog cards in it.

-- Brenda

B.S., English and Mass Communications, Illinois State University
M.A., Library and Information Studies, Northern Illinois University
School Library Media Teacher Certification, Dominican University
English as a Second Language endorsement, Northeastern Illinois University