001I think something that I like about West Chicago that's different from other places is that we have the best kids around like we just have genuinely great kids I absolutely love my students I am constantly Blown Away by their creativity and drive I appreciate that we can all laugh together and really form a community within the classroom I think the thing that I love the most about West Chicago is the students they're great people and they're honest they're hard-working kids and they want to be successful in the future I think without a doubt we have the nicest most polite engaging student body here it's really a pleasure coming to work every day and knowing that I have the opportunity to talk to these amazing human beings and learn and grow with them one of the
002things I love most about teaching at West Chicago specifically is just the level of empathy and acceptance that students have for one another they just seem to be innately empathic they have an identity of inclusion they seek people out who are kind of left out they kind of warm them by the fire they welcome them in really these kids you can tell really focus on the many common analities that they share and they are willing to listen and to accept people immediately I think that is really special and a very unique part of our culture throughout this school and the students that we get to come in and teach every day I mean I'm always so impressed by the level of wanting to take care of each other that I see amongst everybody and I
003see that on a daily basis with the way that the kids treat each other it's an inclusive diverse group of kids there's a reason why it's in the name right West Chicago Community High School the reason why we include it it's just a great sense of community that makes you feel a part of it if you ask someone what they love about West Chicago the first thing they're going to say is the students and that would be the same for me but it's more than just the students it's the community it's the families that feed into this community that are a part of this community it's the staff members here it really is it's family it's a family atmosphere and you get that from the staff from the students from the community from everybody I
004love the community in West Chicago I love the feeling of truly being a family with the students with the staff with the parents that's the best part I have support from family and other students and teachers so there's a lot I love about Wego not only the staff but the community as well and the students which make we go who it is and what it is the favorite part about it is that it's kind of like a big family not only the community but here at school as well I love everything that there is about West Chicago just in general I love the atmosphere of West Chicago I love the community that we have here so something I love about West Chicago is the community that we've built amongst teachers among students amongst all staff
005and just our relationships with each other so it's not just a great staff relationship but the staff has a great relationship with the students the students with the staff and it's just created this awesome Community within our building within the outside community and it's it's just really special to be a part of so I love it here I actually had my first interactions with West Chicago while I was in school I got to meet some friends here and connect with them and and I really loved the community that I had at that young age as I've started to work here be an employee I found that I have had excellent support from my co-workers from my supervisors and it's been a place where they have allowed me to have not just the autonomy to be
006able to flourish within my job and with the the skills and the talents that I have but providing the support and guidance that I need to get past those barriers that we just naturally end up running into in our job one of the big reasons why I love coming to work is because of my co-workers I just feel so supported every single day I know that I can turn to a lot of different people if I should ever need anything and everyone just comes together to help each other it's just a really special place to be every day Wego definitely just feels like home so our community here at the high school is one of the reasons why I love coming to work every day we have a group of professionals here who really care
007about the students and all also care about one another and the success of one another and the success of classes and programs and there hasn't been one time at this High School when I've reached out to a colleague and they've told me no everyone wants to help you say you have a situation in your classroom someone down the hall in your department another department has had that same situation and you're able to talk to them and discuss it with them and get advice you're never alone on anything and that's something I've experienced in the last three years even if I think it's a situation that's never happened to anyone else there's always someone in our building within this community that we've created that's willing to help you work through it talk through it our staff
008is just always willing to support you and help you and guide you along the way when I first joined the staff at West Chicago High School I immediately felt welcomed not only by The English Department but also everybody else that's involved with working together to make our school the best it can be I feel like I really have the opportunity to not only be myself but ask for help when needed and get that support from other people because it not only benefits me but it helps our students as well I was really happy with my decision to come to wiggle because since the moment I signed my contract I feel welcome by all this stuff if I have any questions if I'm struggling I'm not afraid to ask for help because I know they're not
009going to judge me they're gonna provide me with their expertise they help me they want me to be successful so I can help my students to be successful one of the most I think important ways that we serve students happens behind the scenes that students don't often see like I'm always talking with colleagues administrators friends here in the building and all of us might have a different way of helping kids but we all want to help kids the one thing that I I'm very confident about our staff is is every staff member the 150 that we have or whatever I truly truly believe that they care about our students they want the best for each student in their classroom I think our staff is really Adept at changing the way they teach to benefit the
010students and they truly care about the students that we go they ask students about their lives and they have meaningful dialogue I also think our staff is incredibly helpful and always willing to go above and beyond to help a student when they're stress I think one of the most meaningful ways that I've seen my co-workers you know help out our students is definitely by making a point to get to know them as people to connect with students on a deeper level get to know them and go out of their way to provide them opportunities to be successful in and out of the classroom to really push our kids to the next level we don't give up on on our students that's that I'm very confident about that thank you