With her open nature and magnetic smile, Michele Hettinger has made a remarkable imprint on District 219 as English teacher, teacher of AP Seminar and AP Language, co-sponsor of the feminism club, and frequent tutor in the Literacy Center. She is recognized by not only staff but students for her student-driven feedback teaching style and will be dearly missed when she retires at the end of the 2026 school year after working at Niles West for 27 years.

Hettinger grew up in Champaign, Illinois, with her father. When she was 18, her father passed away, forcing her to grow up faster than other kids her age.

“I mean, I think the number one indelible experience in my life was my dad dying when I was 18,” Hettinger said.  “Like, suddenly I was alone. But I feel like my father dying made me grow up. Because suddenly I was like, ‘Whoa, no one’s going to do this for me. I have to do this on my own. ‘ So that’s one kind of good thing to come out of it.” 

As shocking as it may seem to those who’ve had her, Hettinger didn’t start off as an English teacher.  She originally went to the University of Illinois for an English degree in 1984 and graduated in 1988, after having to leave for a period of time during her senior year because she could no longer afford to attend, since she had to pay for it all herself.

She started working in a publishing house in 1991, but eventually left after two years because of its extremely repetitive nature and lack of the social aspect she wanted. In 1993, Hettinger went back to the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) to get her master’s in teaching in order to get a people-oriented job that she craved. While attending UIC, she worked at St. Augustine, a bilingual general college, from 1992 to 1995.

 “[Teaching] kind of gets you in touch with the world, because I feel like a lot of people will be like ‘you teach the next generation,’ what do you think about the future?'” Hettinger said. “And I’m like, ‘I’m excited for the future because look at these kids I teach.’ It [teaching] helps you get perspective on the world and where we are and where we’re going.” 

During the summer of 1993, Hettinger went to El Salvador for a language exchange program with St. Augustine to lend support to aspiring teachers in the mountains of Santa Marta after the Ministerio de Educación tried to prevent them from becoming certified. The problem was that the government did not want these teachers to teach about the civil war. The teachers were able to complete their certification test, but after the test was done, there was an armed military presence to greet the teachers. 

“It was an intimidation tactic, but it was also terrifying — one of those moments when your life flashes before your eyes,” Hettinger said. “The significance of this story is that it became a part of my teaching philosophy about teaching matters of importance. I strongly believe that there are a lot of stories that are not told because teachers are afraid to teach them. Those stories are probably some of the most important ones for students to know in order to be informed citizens of the world.” 

In 1999, Hettinger started working at Niles West, bringing with her the knowledge that comes with having a vast amount of experience. Hettinger has loved her years teaching at Niles West because of how diverse and accepting the school is.

“When you ask people what they love about Niles West, they always say the diversity,” Hettinger said. “But, I really do love the diversity. Because I learn so much about the world, which is very cool, because I love travel and I love different cultures, and it’s really fun to learn about all of those different things. And I love my colleagues.”

The amount of appreciation that Hettinger has for her colleagues is reflected in her colleagues’ recognition of her achievements. Fellow English teacher Jody Weatherington deeply appreciates Hettinger’s time at Niles West because of how much she has learned about teaching from Hettinger.

“I know I learned so much from [Hettinger] during her time teaching at Niles West,” Weathertington said. “I definitely credit her with a lot of the ways I approach teaching because she’s someone who’s always learning and going to different classes to improve her teaching. She’s so inspirational.”

Hettinger’s colleagues aren’t the only ones who have greatly benefited from her time at Niles West. Senior Muhammad Ammar believes that Hettinger’s teaching style has helped him grow as a writer.

“I used to be a very rigid writer; I used to write very dry arguments that were a sequence of logical conclusions,” Ammar said. “[Hettinger] helped me see the nuance in writing. Seeing her writing and feedback helped me realize that I don’t need to write as rigidly…She helped evolve my writing style.”

In her free time, Hettinger does Latin dance, reads and takes care of her many plants. She wants to move to Mexico to continue teaching. Her other retirement plans include reading, traveling and visiting her daughter.

Niles West thanks Hettinger for 27 years of dedication, and we wish her luck on what she chooses to do in the future.