Fifth-grade teacher at District 204 school in Aurora named Illinois Teacher of the Year

Rachael Mahmood, a fifth-grade teacher in Indian Prairie School District 204, has been selected as the 2024 Illinois Teacher of the Year.

The surprise announcement was made on Thursday morning at Georgetown Elementary School in Aurora, where Mahmood teaches. In her acceptance speech, Mahmood told the gathered crowd of district administrators, Illinois State Board of Education staff and students that she came into the teaching profession looking for the belonging she missed as a mixed-race student.

“I just never wanted any other kids to go through what I went through – being embarrassed of my culture and my identity,” Mahmood said through tears. “I feel so weird saying that now because I celebrate so much culture.”

Mahmood is the daughter of a Russian Jewish mother and an Indian Hindu father, and grew up participating in cultural and religious practices from both sides of her family, she previously said.

Steven Isoye, chair of the Illinois State Board of Education, said at the announcement that Mahmood rose above other nominees because she “embodies the qualities of an exceptional educator and inspiring leader.” He praised her push for inclusion in and out of the classroom and her commitment to the craft of teaching.

“If the textbook does not adequately represent her students’ cultures and engage them in identifying with the content, she does not hesitate to redesign the curriculum,” Isoye said.

With the 2024 Illinois Teacher of the Year award comes a year-long paid sabbatical to tour the state as an ambassador for teachers, and Isoye said he “could not imagine a more qualified candidate.”

According to Isoye, Mahmood said during her interview for the award that it would be a “dream come true” to spread the message that teaching is a life-changing profession.

“I just want other teachers to realize just how incredibly lucky we are to have a job where we get to hang out all day with kids who love us unconditionally, and we can make school and learning fun,” she said during her acceptance speech. “When we love our jobs, we love each other and we love what we do, it just feels like we don’t even work at all.”

During her year-long sabbatical, she also plans to use the skills and local knowledge of all regional teachers of the year to advance the profession of teaching, she said after the announcement.

Mahmood was placed in the running to be the Illinois Teacher of the Year after she was recognized as the Far West Suburbs Regional Teacher of the Year earlier this year.

In an interview after winning the regional teacher of the year award, Mahmood said she wants everyone to bring their full, authentic selves to school. Whether it is teachers, students or parents, she said they all should find strength in their unique identities.

“If we look at our identity as strengths, as funds of knowledge, as something that can be utilized, when we unite all of these identities together, we can definitely reimagine an educational system that serves everyone,” Mahmood said at the time.

At the announcement on Thursday, Georgetown Elementary School Principal Jill Keller said Mahmood is dedicated to her students, driven to collaborate with their families and has the creativity to build engaging and interesting lessons in the classroom.

Outside of the classroom, Mahmood continues to show her dedication to her students by planning and organizing school-wide events like STEAM or multicultural fairs, supporting the PTA and leading a school equity team, Keller said.

Mahmood’s influence is not limited to Georgetown Elementary, either, according to Isoye. He said she has led diversity and equity teams across Indian Prairie School District 204, has worked to encourage interfaith discussions, has written curriculum for her district and beyond, writes blogs on education, runs an educational consulting business and more.

Isoye called Mahmood an “incredibly accomplished teacher leader over the last two decades in education.”

Mahmood joined Indian Prairie School District 204 as a teacher in 2005 and has spent the last nine years at Georgetown Elementary School in Aurora. According to District 204 Superintendent Adrian Talley, Mahmood is the first teacher in the district to be chosen as an Illinois Teacher of the Year.

“We believe it symbolizes all the great work she does in support of our students, as well as the work of her fellow teachers,” Talley said.

According to Talley, Mahmood “embraces diversity, inclusivity and a strong desire to ensure all of her students are heard and appreciated.”

Even though Mahmood will be on paid sabbatical next year and not in a classroom, she said after the announcement that she will be trying to find ways to come back and see her students when she has free time.

Mahmood said during her acceptance speech that the end of the school year is always hard because her students leave for middle school and, often, never come back to see her.

“I hope that my students know how much I care about them, how hard I work to make sure you guys have such a great educational experience and that you love coming to school every day,” she told her students during her acceptance speech.

After her acceptance speech, Mahmood’s students surrounded her in a giant hug. Some students complained of being too far away from Mahmood to get a proper hug, so the circle of students shifted, and they went in for another embrace.

“I belong in spaces like this, that bring people together,” she said at the end of her acceptance speech. “I’ve learned that, after 20 years of teaching, bringing our class together, bringing our school together and bringing the communities together is a space that we can all feel like we belong.”

rsmith@chicagotribune.com