The current dean of students at Lakes Community High School, Nicole Hebson, is taking over for Antioch Community High School English Department Chair DeeAnn Andershock. Andershock has been teaching for 30 years and acting as the ACHS English Department Chair for 12 years.
“I didn’t want to be a teacher at all,” Andershock said. “In the beginning, I was in the corporate world, I got my master’s degree and my dad said that he would help me pay for it if I got my teaching certification.”
Andershock’s father also taught at ACHS, influencing Andershock to become a teacher. Eventually, when her father retired, she applied for a job at ACHS and started as a sub. After a year, Andershock became a full-time teacher at the school and later became department chair.
A department chair has numerous added responsibilities: building teacher schedules; evaluating and overseeing all the staff in the English department; contributing to leadership decisions; budgeting; curriculum development; and maintaining motivation for the department to keep moving forward.
In order to choose a department chair, the hiring committee comes together and interviews candidates. English teacher and committee member Helene Schulze used to teach at LCHS just before Hebson was brought onto the LCHS English team.
“My one big regret about Lakes is I never got to work with Ms. Hebson,” Schulze said. “She’s really good at uniting departments, getting everybody on board, making some changes and investing in everybody. As soon as I saw her name as one of the candidates I was stoked.”
Ya never know what Spring Institute will bring to the school fam… pic.twitter.com/VopeNO8TrN
— Nicole Hebson (@missheb14) April 11, 2023
Hebson has been teaching for 24 years through CPS and then at LCHS. Throughout the 24 years, she has transitioned from LCHS English department chair to LCHS dean of students and now back to ACHS English department chair.
“My CPS background is in a school that has been around for over 100 years,” Hebson said. “I’m aware of any traditions and history, I’m excited to embrace that. Lakes being a newer building was actually kind of new to me and my experiences as a teacher so I am looking forward to getting back into a building that has that history, tradition and appreciation for what’s come before.”
Hebson has been at Lakes for seven years. She is proud of the fantastic team and wonderful culture of the LCHS English department. Hebson is looking to bring an open mind to ACHS and introduce her philosophies of doors, windows and mirrors regarding curriculum selection. When it comes to the books students read, Hebson believes it can either be a door; they are transported to a different world; the book could be a window, the student can see what is going on and could potentially relate; the book could also be a mirror, the student completely relates and sees themself in the story. Hebson hopes students can relate to the content read in classes.
“I think by being open-minded and looking at things in a way that could say, what is this book actually doing,” Hebson said. “Are we giving ourselves a chance to ignite a fire and get our kids interested in books?”
Hebson is ecstatic about joining the team at ACHS and being a part of the rich tradition and sense of community ACHS revolves around. Although Andershock is leaving, new opportunities arise as Hebson takes over the English department.
