Niles West Band Director Named 2020 Regional Teacher Of The Year

SKOKIE, IL — Niles West High School band director Justin Johnson is a 2020 Regional Teacher of the Year and one of 10 finalists to become 2021 Illinois Teacher of the Year, the Illinois State Board of Education announced this week.

The State Board of Education has sponsored the Teacher of the Year program since 1970, and all public and private elementary and high school teachers with at least five years of experience are eligible.

Outstanding educations are nominated during the spring by someone with firsthand knowledge of their qualities. Then a committee composed of administrators, teachers, past winners and other educational professionals picks one finalist from seven regions of the state — North Suburbs, South Suburbs, Northwest, West Central, East Central, Southwest and Southeast — and three co-regional teachers of the year from Cook County, including Johnson.

"This is a really big deal, and we all know that Justin Johnson is so deserving of this award," Niles West Principal Karen Ritter said in an email.

"Johnson is everything the Teacher of the Year Award represents. He is a kind, caring role model who always has the students’ best interest in mind," she said. "During remote learning, performance-based courses like his band classes are some of the most challenging courses to teach via Zoom, but he has researched the best models and methods to provide an enjoyable and rigorous experience for his students."

Johnson joined Niles West from Central High School in Memphis, Tennessee, more than eight years ago. He conducts the concert band, symphonic band and symphonic wind ensemble, overseeing and directing the pep band, marching band and jazz band, as well as conducting the orchestra during the spring musical, according to the Niles West band program website.

"When I visited Mr. Johnson’s classroom last year, I felt that I could spend the whole day there," the principal added. "He is an intense instructor who is so in tune with his students and their needs, and brings them all together in an ensemble setting. I would have loved to have had a teacher like Justin Johnson."

In 2016, Johnson was a finalist for the prestigious Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching. And earlier this year, Niles West students voted Johnson as the winner of the school's 2020 Teacher of the Year award, according to the school newspaper.

"This school year has been the most difficult year of my teaching career, and that was before the abrupt transition to e-learning," he told the paper. "This year has been a very challenging year for me but has also been one of the most rewarding of my career.”

The 2021 Illinois Teacher of the Year is set to be selected by Carmen Ayala, the state superintendent of education, from one of the 10 finalists.

That educator will represent Illinois in the National Teacher of the Year program, which is organized by the Council of Chief State School Officers. The winner is due to be announced Oct. 21.

"Receiving a Teacher of the Year award has taken on new meaning in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our educators have surmounted radical shifts in how they teach and connect with students," Ayala said, announcing the finalists. "Illinois’ Teachers of the Year helped to lead their communities through crisis. They shine as beacons of hope and stability in the lives of Illinois students and families. They went to extraordinary lengths to care for the mental, physical, as well as academic, well-being of their students. I thank and congratulate each educator for their incredible service."

In a message to band members this summer, Johnson said Niles West band class would be different in the 2020-21 school year. But the coronavirus does not make music education any less necessary.

"More than ever, even if remote, music is a necessary class for our students," Johnson said. "When we engage with music we engage with our emotions, practice being vulnerable, and build self awareness. It’s the only discipline where students get to study themselves and then be strong enough to put who they are on display through performance."

Johnson, who said he spent the summer finishing his master's degree in music education, asked parents to do what they can to allow their student to find a place to play uninterrupted — and not to share their opinions about their musical development.

"Further, the music community provides a safe place for our students. It is a place where they can take risks and grow," he said. "Additionally, studies show over and over again that music helps us through hard times. Just the act of playing is proven to lower your heart rate and release hormones that make us happy."