The National Board Resource Center at Illinois State University has announced the current National Board Certified Teachers who have been nominated and who have received recognition for state and national awards.
2023 CCSSO National Teacher of the Year finalist
Each year, the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) selects an exemplary educator for its National Teacher of the Year award. The CCSSO’s National Teacher of the Year program selects the most outstanding educator with a positive impact inside and outside the classroom.
Kimberly Radostits, Oregon
Radostits, from Oregon Community Unit District 220, was named Illinois State Board of Education Teacher of the Year in 2022. Among the vast talent pool of exceptional teachers in the country, Radostits is also one of the five teachers considered for the 2023 National Teacher of the Year.
2023 Illinois Those Who Excel & Teacher of the Year awardees
For more than five decades, the Illinois State Board of Education has sponsored the Those Who Excel & Teacher of the Year awards. This annual program gives distinction to select Illinois educators, support personnel, teams, volunteers, and administration for their outstanding contributions to shaping young minds in the state’s public and nonpublic elementary and secondary schools.
Sawsan Jaber, Franklin Park
Jaber, a high school English teacher and a district equity and justice leader at East Leyden High School, was named the 2023 Cook County Co-Regional Teacher of the Year and is one of 13 finalists for the 2023 Illinois Teacher of the Year.
Dion Love, Chicago
Love, from Kenwood Academy High School, serves as a virtual instructional coach through the We Care Program. Through that program, he helps support new teachers of color by mentoring them through the ins and outs of teaching and understanding the Chicago Public Schools system. Love is a recipient of the Award for Meritorious Service.
Charles Curtin, Elwood
Curtin, a special education teacher from Elwood Park High School, is a recipient of the Award for Meritorious Service.
Elizabeth Vietzen, Oak Park
Vietzen, from Oliver Wendell Holmes Elementary School, is a recipient of the Award for Meritorious Service.
Kathleen Kelly, Oak Park
Kelly teaches French at Percy Julian Middle School. Kelly is also a recipient of the Award for Meritorious Service.
Lisa Warner, Chicago
Warner, a literacy instructional coach at Tarkington Elementary School, is a recipient of the Award for Meritorious Service.
Tammi Mellert, Medinah
Mellert, from Medinah Primary School, has worked as a reading specialist for almost 15 years and is also a recipient of the Award for Meritorious Service.
Jody Bosomworth, Alton
Bosomworth teaches kindergarteners at Lovejoy Elementary School. Bosomworth is a recipient of the Award for Meritorious Service.
Catherine Unsbee, Normal
Unsbee, a United States history and civics teacher from Normal West High School, is an assistant coach of the school’s mock trial team and sponsor of the Dungeon & Dragons Club. She is also a recipient of the Award for Meritorious Service.
2023 Golden Apple Award finalists
The Golden Apple Award is highly competitive and only a select few are chosen as finalists.
Helen Chan, Chicago
Chan, from South Loop Elementary School, is a UIC graduate and was a previous student teacher at South Loop.
Brian Horner, Naperville
Horner teaches in the district’s Project Idea Plus program for gifted students at Meadow Glens Elementary School. He won the “Office Max Teacher Innovation Award” and the district’s “Mission Maker Award.” Also, he has been nominated multiple times for the “Disney Teaching Award” and the “Those Who Excel” program.
James O’Malley, Morton Grove
O’Malley, is a science specialist and general education inclusion teacher at Thomas A. Edison Elementary School. He became an NBCT in 2001 and has since led cohorts and mentored candidates undergoing National Board Certification.
Andrea Woods, Ingleside
Woods teaches at Big Hollow Elementary School. “Being an NBCT has truly shaped my practice,” Woods said.
If you know a current National Board Certified Teacher who recently received a state or national award who is not on our list, please contact the National Board Resource Center.
