Teacher's Union Honors Evanston Teacher With Human, Civil Rights Award

EVANSTON, IL — Linda Matsumoto, an Evanston/Skokie School District 65 staff member for the past decade, has been awarded the Reg Weaver Human and Civil Rights Award from the Illinois Education Association, the state's largest union.

Matsumoto was previously a journalist with the Chicago Tribune, top spokesperson for Chicago Public Schools and Chicago Public Library and an adjunct faculty member at Columbia College. She is currently a paraprofessional at Dr. Bessie Rhodes School of Global Studies, a marketing communications consultant and an advocate for Asian American and Pacific Islander, or AAPI, history.

Matsumoto is the first Asian American to win the Reg Weaver award, which is named after a former president of the Illinois and National Education Associations who dedicated his career to advancing social justice.

She is also the first educator from District 65 and its Skokie-based IEA region to be honored with the statewide award, one of six awarded at the union's annual representative assembly, according to the district

Following the 2021 passage of the TEAACH Act, which made Illinois the first state to mandate the teaching of a unit of Asian American history in all public K-12 schools, the Illinois State Board of Education tapped Matsumoto to become part of the first ISBE TEEACH Leaders cohort to help districts implement the act.

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District 65 Superintendent Devon Horton said Matsumoto was very deserving of the recognition.

“Her lens and knowledge of AAPI history and culture has been a tremendous asset in our work to create a more inclusive District 65," Horton said. "Her work transcends our community and positively impacts students across the state in receiving a more equitable education.”

According to the union, Matsumoto became a local activist when advocating for salary parity for education support professionals and successfully helped bargain for 6 percent pay raises in a five-year contract in 2019.

At a 2021 union leadership academy, Matsumoto created the IEA's first diversity and cultural competency workshop focusing on AAPI history and culture, which discussed the history of systemic bias in educational communities, according to a District 65.

Matsomoto has also given workshops about countering stereotypes about Asian Americans, specifically the myth of the model minority.

And she has given presentations at professional development workshops in District 65, dubbed DEIB [Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging] "Equity in Action," according to the district.

"DEI efforts tend to focus only on black/brown issues," Matsumoto said in a statement. "But DEIB encompasses more than that binary approach."

Matsomoto said she aims to ensure Asian American voices are included in racial discourse in the U.S. Her activism, she said, has sought to embrace commonalities while celebrating cultural diversity.

“It's important for all perspectives from other marginalized groups to be represented in matters that impact educational policy and decisions," she said.

The other eight educators honored by the IEA at the annual representative assembly, the legislative body that sets the unions agenda, earlier this month. About 1,200 delegates, dignitaries and guests attend the event. Award-winners are nominated and chosen by their peers, according to the union.

• Bob Haisman Teacher of the Year Award – Amber Sims (Alton)
• Bob Haisman Student Award – Elizabeth Horvat (Student at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
• Education Support Professional of the Year – Rosalina Esmez (Mundelein)
• Mary Lou and Keith Hauge Retiree of the Year Award – Timothy Brinker (IEA-Retired from Glen Ellyn)
• NEA Award for Teaching Excellence Nominee – Seth Brady (Naperville)