ISBE Announces Finalists for Illinois Teacher of the Year
Springfield (Monday, Sept 9) — Eleven teachers from across the state have been selected as finalists in the Illinois State Board of Education’s annual “Those Who Excel” educator recognition program. The winner will be announced during an October banquet in Normal that celebrates the contributions and accomplishments of nearly 200 educators and school personnel from throughout the Prairie State.
“These eleven teachers are excellent representatives of Illinois’s many enthusiastic and passionate educators who are leading our children and schools,” said Illinois State Board of Education Chairman Gery J Chico. “They consistently create new strategies that keep students engaged and excited about learning and achieving. We are pleased to have this opportunity to publicly recognize their efforts and thank them for their commitment to Illinois’s students.”
The 11 finalists, in alphabetical order
John Bierbaum (above, left) teaches US history, world history and psychology at Normal Community West High School in McLean County Unit School District 5. In addition to his teaching duties, Mr Bierbaum has coached the mock trial activity at West. In February, for example, he brought his students to a pressure-cooker situation in a courtroom where they had to argue a case of theft before a jury. “This is a learning event,” said McLean County Assistant State’s Attorney Pablo Eves, coordinator of the mock trials, who said the goal goes beyond teaching young people about the law. “Students learn about the American legal system, but they also learn to think on their feet,” the Bloomington Pantagraph quoted him as saying. In one gripping bit of testimony, one of Mr Bierbaum’s students, representing the defense, coaxed a confession out of a state witness, a temporary blow to the prosecution. “I’m OK with mistakes,” the paper quoted Mr Bierbaum as saying. “This helps them learn to take risks, and I love the critical thinking they have to learn in order to do a good job.”
Mark Buesing (above, center) is a science and physics teacher at Libertyville High School in Community High School District 128 in Vernon Hills. He has quite a résumé, having started his adult life as an engineer, then a cyclist, then a high school physics teacher and boys cross-country coach, and now he’s even working with NASA scientists. At the urging of one of his students, who is now an oceanographer with the US Antarctica Program, Mr Buesing applied for work with glaciologists in NASA’s Operation IceBridge. It’s a six-year program—or rather, a mission—that maps and measures land and sea ice in the Arctic and in Antarctica. The Waukegan News-Sun reported in June that he brought back about 30 seconds worth of visualization data, which he taught his students to interpret. The data, from NASA’s glacier visualization database, hasn’t been seen by any other students in the country, according to District 128 officials.
Amanda Dearmond (above, right) teaches reading and language arts to seventh- and eighth-grade students at DuQuoin Middle School in DuQuoin Community Unit District 300. One parent wrote on a local journalist group’s Facebook page on the day after the announcement that her daughter was “in her class this year and she is wonderful!” Nothing quite compares to the loud support of parents of middle school students.
William Fritz (above, left) is a communication arts teacher at Adlai E Stevenson High School in Adlai E Stevenson High School District 125 in Lincolnshire.
DeLores Mannes (above, center) teaches language arts to sixth-grade students at Parker Junior High School in Flossmoor School District 161.
Kerry (Fran) Meyers (above, right) is a math, science and ancient civilizations teacher of sixth-grade students at Brimfield Grade School in Brimfield Community Unit School District 309.
Pam Reilly (above, left) teaches second grade at Woodbury Elementary School in Sandwich Community Unit School District 430.
Sina Rowe (above, center) is a kindergarten to third-grade special education teacher at Goshen Elementary School in Edwardsville Community Unit School District 7.
Aaron Sitze (above, right) teaches English at Oregon High School in Oregon Community Unit School District 220.
Amy Walsh (above, left) is a fourth-grade teacher at Tioga School in Bensenville Elementary School District 2.
Donna Whitaker (above, right) teaches science to seventh graders at West Junior High School in Belleville District 118.
Selection process and additional information
A selection committee comprised of administrators, teachers and representatives from educational service personnel, student support personnel and past Illinois Teacher of the Year winners reviewed approximately 200 nominations this year.
Each nomination is individually reviewed and scored three times. Nominations are scored based on personal background information, the nominating recommendation and letters of support from colleagues, parents and students. In addition, nominees must respond to questions focusing on student success, collaboration, continuous learning and leadership. Scores are compiled and averaged to determine one of three levels of recognition: Excellence, Merit or Recognition.
Teachers earning an Award of Excellence are finalists for Illinois Teacher of the Year. Illinois has named a state Teacher of the Year since the mid 1950s. In 1970, the Illinois State Board of Education became involved in the Teacher of the Year selection, and the first banquet was held in 1974. During the 1980s, ISBE began adding other categories so that educators in a variety of positions could be publicly acknowledged for their efforts. The Early Career Educator became the most recent addition in 2006.
Brian Curtin is the 2013-2014 Illinois Teacher of the Year. Brian teaches English at Schaumburg High School in Township High School District 211.
“This has definitely been a life-changing and career-changing experience because of all the people that I’ve met, specifically teachers, students and community members,” Curtin said. “What I found really rejuvenating was the collective passion and desire to do what’s best for kids. It was really eye-opening for me and something I wish all teachers could see and experience.”
The 2013-14 Illinois Teacher of the Year will be announced during the Those Who Excel banquet Saturday, Oct. 19 at the Bloomington-Normal Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Normal. The Teacher of the Year will represent Illinois at NASA Space Camp in Huntsville, Ala., and in the Council of Chief State School Officers’ National Teacher of the Year Program.
