Originally from Connecticut, Mike Donatuti moved to Chicago to earn an MA in Visual & Critical Studies from the School of the Art Institute. Since then, Mike has worked as a pre-K instructor at the Florence Heller JCC, and has been educating students ranging in ages from 5 to 55 as an independent tutor.

As a tutor working with young children, Mike finds it especially rewarding teaching young children to read and write, boosting students’ confidence firsthand. Mike has a particular interest in alternative education, and has adjuncted multiple narrative, evaluation-based classes at his alma mater, the Johnston Center for Integrative Studies. In the summers, Mike pedals a pedicab downtown, a job that allows him to show people from around the world why he loves Chicago as much as he does. 

In his role at SIEF, Mike’s teaching credentials allow him to join our classrooms as a teaching guest and also to substitute teach at SIEF.  As a third-generation Italian, Mike is personally excited for this opportunity to connect to his roots, and maybe even impress his Sicilian dad with a little conversational Italian.