The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) announced today the statewide recipients of the
2016-17 Those Who Excel awards.
State education officials will honor the 250 outstanding Illinois
educators later this month at the 41st annual Those Who Excel/Teacher
of the Year banquet in Normal. Among the educators honored will be the
10 Teacher of the Year finalists, one of whom will be named the top
Illinois educator for 2017.
“I am very happy to publicly recognize these extraordinary
educators,” said State Superintendent of Education Tony Smith, Ph.D.
“They continuously build relationships with students that foster
centers of healthy communities and encourage students to succeed.”
Local school district leaders and members of school communities
nominate candidates for Those Who Excel recognition. A committee of
peers, organized through ISBE, chooses the award winners, who will be
honored at a banquet Saturday, Oct. 22, at the Bloomington-Normal
Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Normal. Statewide education
organizations are represented on the committee, which includes former
award winners.
Two-hundred-and-fifty honorees will receive recognition at the
banquet on three levels -- Recognition, Merit, and Excellence -- and
across multiple categories, including classroom teacher, school
administrator, and student support personnel.
“These educators have distinguished themselves for their
exceptional work in their respective fields,” said Cinda Klickna,
Illinois Education Association president. “These award recipients
represent true excellence and their students are indeed lucky to have
them in their lives.”
The 2017 Teacher of the Year, to be announced at the banquet,
will serve as Illinois’ ambassador for the teaching profession during
the 2016-17 school year and will represent Illinois in the National
Teacher of the Year program sponsored by VOYA Financial. Kim Thomas, a
math teacher at Woodruff Career and Technical Center in Peoria Public
School District 150, served as Illinois ambassador for teaching during
the 2015-16 school year.
“As the 2016 Teacher of the Year, I have been blessed with the
‘amathazing’ honor of ‘mathivating’ wonderful educators and students by
spreading my love for teaching and math across the great state of
Illinois,” Thomas said.
For more information on ISBE’s Those Who Excel program, please visit www.isbe.net/those-who-excel/default.htm.