A Cook County band director is the 2021 Illinois Teacher of the Year.
The Illinois State Board of Education presented the award Wednesday to Justin Johnson from Niles West High School.
One of the ten finalists for the award was Jonna Piercy -- a kindergarten teacher at Spring Garden Elementary School in Mt. Vernon. After her nomination, the Mt. Vernon native said she found her love for teaching after joining the Americorps program as a student at Rend Lake College.
"I was also placed in a kindergarten classroom where I actually attended school as a child. That allowed me to work with some of the teachers that I grew up having in class. That was just a really awesome experience and honestly I owe a lot of my tricks and trades to them."
For a complete list of awards from ISBE click here.
