CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - Students line the hallways of a North Side school Friday to celebrate a Cook County Co-Regional Teacher of the Year.
Joshua Lerner teaches bilingual education and math and is the bilingual English as a second language coordinator at Peirce School of International Studies.
“From the youngest grades to eighth grade, I do get to know the students, their families and all my co-workers. It’s something I don’t take for granted,” Lerner told WBBM.
Students love him too.
Lerner was named alongside fellow CPS teacher Comfort Agboola from Edgar Allan Poe Classical Elementary School.
Peirce students cheered on Lerner with a parade on Friday, celebrating the news.
“We have this tradition at school where…our teachers who are retiring and our eighth graders who are graduating walk through the halls and get applauded, and it’s such a wonderful tradition, and I did not think at all that they were planning that for me,” Lerner said.
Students showcased handmade cards and posters to honor Lerner, as he toured the school hallways and greeted the many children he’s served on his way to being named an Illinois Teacher of the Year finalist.
A committee of administrators, teachers, educational service personnel, student support personnel and past Illinois Teachers of the Year helped select this year's awardees.
The 2025 Illinois Teacher of the Year will be selected later this spring.
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