UPDATED: Kubic Advances To Round 3 Of National Teaching Award, $10K At Stake

A Grayslake North teacher stands to win big money for the school, if enough people cast their votes on his behalf. Chris Kubic, a social studies teacher and leader of the Public Service Practicum class, has made it to Round 3 of the Great American Teach-Off.  

"My school and I have tentatively decided that if I win, we’ll use the $10,000 prize to help fund character education, leadership development, and service learning," Kubic said.  

Details about the competition and the process to help Kubic win is listed below, including a schedule for the next rounds:

Nominee:  Chris Kubic, Social Studies Teacher

Grayslake North High School, 1925 North Route 83, Grayslake, IL 60030 

"Thanks to the kindness and initiative of my colleagues and students, I have been nominated for The Great American Teach-Off, a competition that highlights teachers who use creative innovations to make a positive difference in their classroom, school, and community," Kubic said in a statement. "I am one of six finalists from across the nation."

"The prize is a $10,000 grant for my classroom/school, which will help to fund character education, leadership development, and service learning programs," he explained. "Below is information about the competition and how you can help. At the end of this message is a brief biographical statement."

1)    Vote daily (consider setting a reminder on your calendar/phone)! Here is an updated link to use:

• Go to www.good.is/gato. If there is a problem, try typing in that address into your browser, instead of cutting and pasting it, or just clicking it.

o   The first time you visit, click “Join” in the upper right corner and sign up (I’ve checked out this organization, and they will not abuse your information).

o   When you visit the site later, click “Sign In” in the upper right corner.

o   Scroll to the bottom of the page, and you’ll find profiles for each candidate.  You can also view my videos there (they are only 90 seconds each).

o   There are five rounds to the competition, and I have made it to Round 3 (if at any point, you do not see my name among the candidates, that means that I did not advance to that round):

• Round 3 (six finalists) began this week. You can vote once a day, every day until 11:30 a.m. Monday, March 26.
• Round 4 (four finalists) begins at 5pm Monday, March 26.  You can vote once a day, every day until 11:30am Monday, April 2.
• The final round (two finalists) begins at 5pm Monday, April 2 and ends at 11:30am Monday, April 9. 

2)     Spread the word among your families, friends, colleagues, professional organizations, and community supporters.

o   Use e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, and other media to encourage people to vote.

o   I am the only candidate from the Midwest, so even if you do not have connections to me or my school, please support your region!

Kubic said he was very grateful for all of the support he has already received.

"I don’t want this to just be for me, but for my students, school, and community, as well as our entire region," he said.

BIO

My name is Chris Kubic. I am a social studies teacher at Grayslake North High School in Grayslake, IL, a far northwest suburb of Chicago. I have been teaching in the district for eight years. Before becoming a high school teacher, I worked at Trinity International University and Northern Illinois University helping to coordinate new student orientation and success programs. It was there that I realized that, as commendable as it is to help new college students succeed in college, it might be even better to go to high schools and implement some of the strategies that colleges use to help students succeed. That has become my mission – to bridge the gap between high school and college. 

I have a master’s degree in Adult Education, and I try to implement adult education strategies in my high school classes in order to prepare students for college (and because many of these adult-oriented strategies are more engaging and provide students with more self-direction and ownership over their learning). I have co-authored a textbook on how to succeed in college and have given numerous presentations at regional and national conferences on the first year of college. In addition to teaching US History, I also teach sections of the Public Service Practicum and AP Psychology classes, two courses that I brought to Grayslake North several years ago.  My extracurricular activities include coaching the Congressional Debate team, assisting with Link Crew (a freshman orientation program), and announcing at basketball games and other athletic events. 

In my spare time, I enjoy studying herpetology (the study of reptiles) and looking for snakes with my wife and dogs. It is an honor to be a finalist for the Great American Teach-Off, not only for me, but for my school and community. Thank you for your consideration and support!