Niles West Band Director Wins Illinois Teacher Of The Year Award

SKOKIE, IL — Justin Johnson, the band director at Niles West High School, was named the 2021 Illinois Teacher of the Year by the Illinois State Board of Education.

State Superintendent of Education Carmen Ayala selected Johnson from 10 regional finalists, announcing the news during Wednesday's meeting of the state education board.

“Justin Johnson stood out in the selection process not only for the way he impacts the lives of his students but also in how he supports his peers," Ayala said in a statement. “He makes it his mission to know his students on a personal level and use those connections to help him teach in a way that they understand."

Johnson, 39, of Mundelein, has directed bands at Niles West since 2012. A native of Ripley, Tennessee, Johnson was named a finalist for the Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2016 and was voted teacher of the year by Niles West students earlier this year.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker congratulated Johnson in a video message. It was an honor, he said, to have Johnson represent the best of Illinois as its teacher of the year.

"Today's award isn't just about music, it's about how Mr. Johnson uses music to foster inclusion, equity, access and goodwill," Pritzker said. "Mr. Johnson is honest about the fact that he, himself, was not an ideal student. He credits his own teachers with pushing him to fulfill his potential. They refuse to give up on him or allow him to give up on himself. His impressive career is his tribute to them. Mr. Johnson reminds us of how profoundly teachers impact our children and our community."

Johnson said he has encountered certain teachers in his life, some of them band directors, who pushed him not to settle for less than his best.

"They saw potential in me, they didn't let me give up on myself," Johnson told Patch. "Musically, that was the thing that helped me turn the corner, because I was involved in music and I felt like it was something that I was good at. So my behaviors kind of started to change, because I knew I wouldn't get to do the music piece if I didn't change my behavior."

In nomination letters, Niles West students praised Johnson for his dedication and passion, according to an announcement from the state education board, which said Johnson provides his students a model of how a combination of high expectations and a strong work ethic leads to fulfillment and success.

"Johnson shows how much he cares in the way that he doesn't give up on his students and, somehow, improves people. Instead of lowering his expectations, he keeps going, giving out knowledge on how to do things," one student's letter said.

“Johnson constantly dedicates his time, energy, and talents towards the well-being of his students," said another, according to the board. “Every day he encourages us to grow. Even though he is enrolled in classes of his own and has two young kids at home, he never fails to be there for a student in need of help. Not only does he manage three ensembles and percussion during the school day, but he also teaches the jazz band every morning and the marching band for hours after school every autumn."

Remote learning during the coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the importance of art in education, Johnson said.

"Now people are realizing how important music classes and art are to the social-emotional wellbeing of the students. So we just took the one opportunity that these kids have to make music, or to create art, or just be creative in general — and now it's weird. And I think that's opening a lot of eyes to the fact of how important that piece is," he said. "Much of the focus in education now is on social-emotional learning, and in my opinion, you can't leave out the arts in that piece — because it's one of the best ways to get people to feel and emote."

While the digital environment makes replicating the feeling of practicing or performing with others in person impossible, remote learning does allow for some educational opportunities that would not be available on campus.

"I get to spend some time that we maybe didn't have time to do when we're always cramming for another performance," he said. "There's other things musically that we can do. We've had talks about diverse composers. We've had guest artists come in. We've had master classes with the Marine Band. These are things that we never had access to do when we were in person."

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RELATED: Niles West Band Director Named 2020 Regional Teacher Of The Year

“The most important benefit of music programs in schools in my opinion is that it inspires students to experience emotion, to connect with feeling through the awakening of the senses through music-making," Johnson said in his nomination packet. "We must find a way for all students, regardless of socioeconomic status or race, to have these same experiences through music."

As part of his master's degree studies at Eastern Illinois University, Johnson developed a "split scheduling" plan to allow students to take part in fine arts classes even when they are required to take extra courses. Johnson met with students on his own time to allow them to keep playing music until their grades no longer require supplemental classes that conflict with regular class times, he explained.

Beyond his work in the classroom and extracurricular work, Johnson has taken part in committees focused on recruiting and retaining more diverse teachers in Niles Township High School District 219. During the past three years, it has increased the number of new hires of color by 200 percent, according to the state education board.

"In addition to mentoring new teachers and working to diversify the teaching profession, he meets with other educators once a week to study literature and have authentic conversations about the most difficult issues of our time," Ayala said.

Johnson said the evening meetings may involve guest speakers or particular topics.

"Really, the goal of this space is to offer a space for the Black teachers to voice their concerns and make the environment and the district better for people that look like us," he said. "It's been great to have a space where people feel comfortable speaking and really the goal is to be able to create a community where everybody feels safe to be who they are."

Upon returning to the University of Memphis following a brief stint in marketing in New York, Johnson decided to study music education, starting his band directing career in 2008 at Central High School in the Memphis City School District. He rearranged several ensembles and formed new ones, leading them to win several awards during his tenure there.

It was through pure chance that Johnson wound up moving eight hours north, he recalled. A few years into that job, Johnson was attending the annual Midwest Clinic International Band, Orchestra and Music Conference in Chicago, the world's largest instrumental music education convention.

One of his friends at the conference let him know that District 219 administrators were informally interviewing candidates for the band director job. He printed out his resume from his hotel, administrators encouraged to apply, and he would up being offered the job in Skokie.

RELATED: District 219 Fine Arts Attracts New Award-Winning Band Directors

"The students that I work with are great. The community is a bit challenging," he said. "Being a Black male it's sometimes challenging. Something I had to deal with when I first got here was I had some vocal parents — who were not very nice — saying things like, 'This guy isn't qualified to teach our students,' and some very coded things to me."

Johnson said the experience motivated him, and the parents eventually stopped showing up to board meetings.

"At one point in that first couple years, I was about to quit teaching. I was going to go to law school. I was like, 'Man, to hell with this, I don't want to deal with these people.' But the way I was raised, I was like, 'Nah, we don't quit.' I'm the kid whose mom didn't let him quit anything," Johnson said.

"If I'm going to leave it's going to be on my own account. It's not going to be because of the way you've been treating me, and I'm going to show you how strong I am," he added. "Over the years, I just kept working my butt off and said, 'I'm just going to work so much that every time you come and say something bad about me people are going to look at you like, 'You're an idiot, because that's not my experience' — and that's kind of what happened."