New faculty members begin their new lives at Grayslake North
Every new year brings new faces, and this year is no exception. Grayslake North has added many new members to its staff, all who are adjusting to the idea of becoming a new Knight, just like any other newcomer. Our new staff members are Barry Dowe from the CTE department teaching foods, Denzel Mitchem teaching English, Robert Engerbretson teaching German, Sean Killen from the fine arts department, Angel Clark from AIM,
and Niko Richardi teaching Special Education.
“I am a part-time English teacher,” Michem said. I am also the coach of the JV tennis team. I am also probably going to assistant coach freshman basketball.”
Although Mitchem is involved in a wide variety of ways, his favorite thing about being a teacher and a faculty member at North is the students themselves.
“I’m most excited about just meeting my students and seeing how I am teaching,” Mitchem said. It’s been a while for me, and a lot of my experience is virtual, so being in person is very exciting for me.”
Even more interesting however is that Mitchem actually used to be a student at North. He used to walk the same halls, have the same classes, and even play on the same sports teams. Being a previous student can also provide an additional perspective to how to better improve the school for the students.
“I used to go here, so I guess that stood out to me, and I know a lot of the way the school operates and I know the type of students that come through here so all of that was pretty appealing,” Mitchem said. “But mostly it was the way that my coworkers were and the way that my coworkers talked about working here that made me decide to come here.”
Opposite from English, Robert Engerbretson teaches a second language, specifically German 3 and AP German. He’s been learning a lot since coming to North about the school model, the students, and the school culture as a whole.
“There was one breakout session where we got to speak with students where they could tell us what was meaningful to them the way that teachers designed their classes,” Engerbretson said. “It was fun, and we learned a lot. I think all of the new teachers learned quite a bit, myself included.”
Engerbretson enjoys teaching through creating dialogues and simulations. His years of experience of teaching German alongside his resources and ideas for the program is what he feels he brings to the school.
“I believe that I also bring a positive outlook. I bring my own style of teaching, and hopefully if the pandemic is over soon enough, I would like to create an interactive experience,” Engerbretson said. “I have access to a partner school in Germany that I’ve worked with for the past 16 years. There’s so many fun things that we can do like have an exchange, travel there, and we can do a lot more with that. That’s something that I would really like to do, and I was really proud of my experience in the past 16 years and it’s something I would like to bring to North.”
The new faces of North appreciate the students and hope to be there for them and improve the school for them. The faculty is committed to being there for the students and helping each other out when necessary to.
“Whatever it takes is the school culture,” Mitchem said. One of our mottos is that teachers are going to do whatever it takes to help the students, and help each other in any way possible so they can have a good experience.”
