Entering into the school year it is inevitable to see some new friendly faces passing by in the hallways. This year the high school English department welcomes two more teachers.
Making their debuts in the Northview district this school year are Pre-Advanced Placement (AP) English 9 and AP Seminar teacher Drew Wenger, and Pre-AP English 9 educator Katherine Schaefer. Schaefer most previously taught at Catholic Central High School for 22 years as a ninth grade educator and Wenger was an educator within the Chicago public schools system.
Though she is new to the district, Schaefer is no stranger to the world of teaching. She has held numerous positions as an educator and has been teaching for 25 years.
“I was at my last school [Catholic Central] for 22 years and I taught literature, creative writing, a fantasy elective class and a science fiction elective class,” Schaefer said. “I was also an instructional coach, a grade level retreat coordinator and a technology mentor.”
Schaefer has always had a love for the world of literature, so she began teaching English to bring that feeling into school.
“I wanted to be around books and also help people, so teaching seemed like a logical choice,” Schaefer said.
Freshman Elizabeth Atkinson is a student in Schaefer’s class and appreciates the clarity she provides as well as the positive energy she brings into the classroom.
“Mrs. Schaefer is very clear about her directions and helps students out when they need it. She also tries to make learning fun and interesting,” Atkinson said. “She is different from other English teachers I’ve had because she likes to stay on task, but also likes to laugh with her students.”
Choice reading is a luxury that not many schools implement, but is instilled into every classroom at Northview. Schaefer appreciates the opportunity to implement one of her favorite things with her students, which she gets to do everyday with choice reading.
“My favorite part of teaching is using choice books to study the same things that we do with classic literature,” Schaefer said.
As soon as the opportunity to take a teaching job at the high school came along, Schaefer grabbed it. Schaefer is embracing the new and looks forward to what is to come.
“I have heard really good things about the district, so I was excited when the job opened up,” Schaefer said. “This is my 25th year teaching and I am so happy to be here.”
Along with the introduction of Schaefer in the english wing of the high school, Wenger has also made Northview his home. Wenger began his educational career just three years ago. Prior to starting here, he was an educator within the Chicago public schools system.
“I went up to Chicago, taught in Chicago public schools for two years and then made the move to Grand Rapids on the west side of the city,” Wenger said.
Going into college, Wenger was uncertain of what direction he wanted to take. Starting his post secondary education as an undecided communications major, Wenger ultimately decided that English education was the path for him for a multitude of reasons.
“I had a whole year of college under my belt, but I took all of the prereq[uisite] courses that then once I decided english education is what I wanted to do, then I had all of those knocked out and I didn’t have to go to school for any extra time,” Wenger said.
Wenger is taking to the new environment well and enjoys the contrast from his previous years of teaching.
“I’m loving it here. This is the best start to the school year. This is my third year teaching and so out of my three years this is by far the smoothest, the most entertaining, the most challenging in a good way. Just always something to do with teaching as there is typically,” Wenger said.
Though it’s no inner city Chicago school, Wenger is proud to be a wildcat.
“I just love the overall school spirit here at Northview. There’s a lot of community sense to it and I don’t think my last school had that as much,” Wenger said.
Wenger and Schaefer are embracing their newfound Wildcat pride and look forward to the new experiences they will face here at Northview.
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