What is your name and role?
My name is Kaylee Sicilian and I’m a social studies teacher at Niles North.
What classes do you teach?
I teach Civics and Law—one honors section and one standard-level section.
What led you to becoming a teacher?
I used to work in politics, and I’ve always been really passionate about history. I wanted to get other young people excited about it too. Education felt like a natural extension of all of that.
What was your experience in politics?
I worked on political campaigns and in issue advocacy. I helped with efforts like universal pre-K and fixing Colorado’s constitution.
What drew you to government and politics?
It’s the way the world works, and how everyone is affected by the decisions people in power make. I care a lot about justice, freedom, those kinds of things.
What do you like about your job now?
Every day is different. The kids are funny, I get to talk about what I care about all day, and it feels like I’m doing something that actually matters.
Shifting gears a bit, if you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Right now, I’d say Croatia. They have a really beautiful shoreline, great food, and culture. I really want to visit some Balkan countries and do a bit more in Europe, but Croatia is my top spot right now.
What is your favorite movie? Favorite musician?
My all-time favorite movie is Little Miss Sunshine. I’ve been listening to a lot of Lana Del Rey recently.
If you could meet anyone in the world who would it be?
I’d like to meet Bernie Sanders, or maybe J.B. Pritzker—someone in that world.
