DGN’s new English department chairperson Katie Wood started her education journey at Millikin University with a bachelors of arts in English secondary education before recieving a masters in educational leadership from Benedictine University. She has taken many roles in the English and educational world.
“I was at West Aurora High School for seven years. The first four I was a dean of students and the last three I was an English Curriculum Coordinator,” Wood said.
This year, Wood will be teaching English II Honors. Excited to work in a classroom again, Wood has had a good experience in her first few weeks at DGN.
“Going through the interview process I saw wonderful energy from everybody,” Wood said. “I really love the community here. You can tell there’s a lot of pride in growing up or working in Downers Grove.”
What truly makes an impression on her are the people she has met and started building connections with.
“I think that the ability to work with the English department and have a class of students is important. I didn’t teach in my last role, so it’s good to be back.”
Wood hopes to elevate the English department during her time here as well as strengthen her relationships with students and staff as a whole.
“I hope to see students grow and help them have a positive experience in English. I would feel hugely successful if I could not only help them learn but help them enjoy it,” Wood said.
Though he is new to DGN this year, Athletic Director David Rose is no stranger to working in an academic and athletic environment.
“I went to East Leyden High School, then graduated from Illinois State and spent the last ten years teaching and coaching at Woodstock North High School. The last three years I was an athletic director there before making the transition here,” Rose said.
Familiar with the area, Rose has immediate family that resides near Downers Grove. So, the job opening at DGN was all the more enticing.
“It is a great opportunity and a great school. It also brings us closer to family, so it was a no brainer,” Rose said.
Rose has enjoyed the beginning of his DGN career thanks to the community that surrounds him.
“The thing I like the most is the people here. The coaches, students, teachers, everyone. It’s been very welcoming and it seems like everyone is very passionate about their role here,” Rose said.
Over the past few years, DGN has accomplished an abundance of state recognition across a variety of sports, including football and basketball. Rose intends on maintaining this momentum for years to come.
“The immediate goal is to get comfortable, find my role here, and help influence athletic programs to move in the right direction. My long term goal is to continue the success that Downers North has right now in terms of athletics,” Rose said.
Orchestra Director Allessandra West is making a mark at DGN this year. She is the first orchestra director to be at DGN’s campus only, providing Trojans with more instrumental instruction.
“This is my fifth year of teaching. I went to Augustana college for music education and violin performance. Out of Covid I got a job in Iowa, and then my previous job was in Metea Valley in Aurora. I was there for three years,” West said.
Similar to other new employees, West found the DGN environment to be welcoming and positive.
“When I was interviewing here, the employees had the best answers and the students were awesome. The community aspect when you walked in was very clear and you could tell that everyone enjoyed being there,” West said.
Above all, West is excited to interact with her students and impact them in positive ways. She also will be implementing a new fine arts class.
“I love the students, they make it worth it every day. There’s also a new rock band class this year which is so fun because its brand new and we get to make it our own,” West said.
West has many aspirations and hopes for her future at DGN, which includes expanding the orchestra.
“My goal is to get a third orchestra going because I think this would be a great opportunity for students,” West said. “Band has a really great presence here which is phenomenal, and I would love for orchestra to have that presence.”
