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.