Our Mission & Vision

Our mission is to provide students with a vertically aligned English curriculum comprised of complex texts and rigorous learning opportunities that will result in lifelong readers, writers, and thinkers. Our students will be able to evaluate their thinking independently and engage with society as active participants and promoters of change.

We honor each of our student’s unique abilities and vulnerabilities while providing a nurturing environment in which all students are encouraged to take risks and develop the perseverance necessary to tackle and question complex texts and issues.

Our Teachers

Wendy Hush | Department Chair
Wendy Hush started her career at Solorio in 2012. She earned her Bachelors in Mass Communications from Illinois State University, and went on to earn her Masters in Writing from DePaul University. She currently holds an M.Ed from DePaul University as well. Prior to working as a teacher, Mrs. Hush was a journalist for the Chicago Tribune. Her professional interests include teaching Shakespeare through performance and incorporating visual and primary sources into her literature instruction. In 2016, Mrs. Hush helped students from Solorio to pass a law eliminating the word "alien" from the Illinois statute when describing an undocumented person. Her favorite book is Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Karen Schopf | Department Chair
Karen Schopf became an English teacher at Solorio in 2010. She previously taught in the suburbs for five years and in Hong Kong for three years. Some semesters, Ms. Schopf also teaches writing at Moraine Valley Community College. Ms. Schopf earned her Master’s in Literature from Northwestern and her Bachelor’s in English Education from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Pedagogically, Ms. Schopf has a passion for teaching textual analysis and writing with the hopes that her students apply those skills to analyzing the world around them and taking steps to improve what they see as injustices. She also likes to geocache, travel, and take pictures.
Juliana Boccumini
Juliana Boccumini started her career at Solorio as an AUSL Teaching Resident in 2015. She became an official Solorio English teacher in 2016. Ms. Boccumini earned her Bachelors in English and Creative Writing from Indiana University at Bloomington, and she went on to earn her Masters from DePaul University in Secondary Education. She is passionate about teaching writing of all kinds.
David Budde
David Budde began his career at Solorio in 2014. He earned his Bachelors degree in English with a Pre-Education specialization from The Ohio State University and went on to earn his MA in Teaching from Dominican University. Mr. Budde's professional interests include early 20th century British literature, creative writing, and feminist theory. His favorite authors are Christopher Isherwood and Alice Walker, his most recommended young-adult novel is Feed by M.T. Anderson, and he is a Beyonce enthusiast.
Joseph Gondolfi
Joseph Gondolfi started his career at Solorio in 2012 as an AUSL Teaching Resident. He became an official Solorio English Teacher in 2013. Mr. Gondolfi has a BA in Secondary Education and English from DePaul University, an M.Ed in Urban Education from National Louis University, and is currently working toward an MA in Literacy Education from Northeastern Illinois University. His professional interests include creating authentic reading and writing experiences for his students, studying psychoanalytic and feminist literary criticism, and strengthening public neighborhood schools. He has two dogs and is a musician in his spare time.
Catherine Heywood
​Catherine Heywood started her career at Solorio in 2013 as an AUSL Teaching Resident. She became an official Solorio English Teacher in 2014. She studied at Xavier University, earning her Bachelors in English, and continued on to earn her Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from National Louis University. Some of Ms. Heywood's professional interests include literacy for English Learners, post-apocalyptic fiction, and Elizabethan theater. She also enjoys cooking and hanging out with her dog, Molly.
Diana Iocco
Diana Iocco began her career at Solorio in 2011. She earned her Bachelors in Education from Eastern Illinois University, and she went on to obtain her Masters in Urban Education from National Louis University. Ms. Iocco's professional interests include feminist literature, literacy for English Learners, and accommodation supports. Her favorite books include A Fine Balance, Pride & Prejudice, Americanah, and The Prophet​.
Jonathan Jacka
Originally from South Africa, Jonathan studied at the University of Cape Town, majoring in English Literature and African History.  He then went on to earn his Masters in Education at the University of South Africa.  After teaching in his home country for 5 years, he moved to the United States and began teaching at Solorio in January of 2016.  Professionally, he loves to help students create authentic real world connections through their study of literature, and hopes to pursue a second Master’s in Literacy Education.  Outside of school, his life is a recipe that consists of equal parts reading stories, writing his own book, and adventuring outdoors; added to this is a small dash of gaming on his PC and Xbox, and he also holds onto a dream of one day competing in the Ironman World Championships.
Kaley Jowers
Kaley Jowers began her career at Solorio in 2013. She earned her Bachelors in English Literature and Spanish at the University of Central Florida, and went on to earn her MA in Teaching from Dominican University. Ms. Jowers's professional interests include American Indian literature, creative nonfiction, and feminist analytical writing. She also is a Floridian currently living in Chicago who coaches volleyball, and enjoys baking, reading, and cats in no particular order.
Patricia Knytych
​Patricia Knytych was hired at Solorio in 2012. She earned her Bachelors degree in Special Education (LBS1 Sequence) from Illinois State University and her Masters degree in Curriculum and Instruction with an ESL endorsement from Concordia University. Some of Ms. Knytych's professional interests include strategies for teaching diverse learners, dystopian literature, and coordinating non-fiction text sets with class novels. Ms. Knytych loves literature, cooking, and her family, and the Harry Potter series remains her favorite. She also coaches the tennis team at Solorio.
Molly McCartt
Molly McCartt started her career at Solorio in 2014 as an AUSL Teaching Resident. She became an official Solorio English Teacher in 2015. She earned her Bachelors in English from The College of Wooster, and went on to earn her Masters in Urban Teaching from National Louis University. Ms. McCartt's professional interests include argument writing and creative nonfiction. She also won her elementary school spelling bee every year, and in college wrote a middle-school self-help book.
Andrea Studier
Andrea Studier ​ started her career at Solorio in 2012 as an AUSL Teaching Resident. She became an official Solorio English Teacher in 2013. She earned her Bachelors degree in English Education from Illinois State University and went on to earn her Masters in Urban Education from National Louis University. Mrs. Studier's professional interests include literary analysis, literacy for struggling readers, and young adult literature. She also has read the entire Harry Potter series at least 5 times, and she enjoys spending time with her new baby, Owen.
Jennifer Westfallen
Jennifer Westfallen started as an English teacher at Solorio in 2010. She earned her Bachelors in English from Ohio Wesleyan and her Masters in Education from DePaul University. Some of Mrs. Westfallen's professional interests include social justice, creative writing, satire, the media, and computer science. She is also a certified yoga instructor, she has created app called Happy Challenge using Ruby on Rails, and she has run three marathons.
Samson Widerman
Samson Widerman started at Solorio in 2016. He studied English and Politics, Philosophy and Law at Binghamton University in New York and is currently a Masters Candidate at Johns Hopkins University School of Education and will earn his degree in May of 2017. Mr. Widerman's professional interests include teaching writing, specifically helping students develop the capacity to tell their own stories. He previously worked at Urban Prep Academy in Bronzeville, and he likes to bike and play Nintendo games in his free time.