Teacher of the Year

2023 Awardees

Bonnie Polluck

Bonnie Pollock, Teacher of the Year

Bonnie Pollock ‘13, M.S. ‘16, of Bentonville, Arkansas, earned her Bachelor of Science in elementary education and Spanish and a master’s degree in teaching and learning from Illinois State. She has earned multiple honors in the states where she has taught such as 2018-19 Scoggins Middle School teacher of the year in Texas and the 2020-21 and 2021-22 Walmart Logistics Martin Luther King Jr. Dream Teacher in Arkansas. At her current school in Bentonville Public Schools, she facilitated a student-led writing club that has consisted of nine students winning local, state, or international writing contests.

Michael Soares

Michael Soares, Legacy Teacher of the Year

Dr. Michael Soares ‘95, M.S. ‘04, Ph.D. ’18, of Pontiac earned his Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, and Doctorate all in English education and studies. He currently teaches English at Pontiac Township High school. In his 26 years of teaching, his proudest accomplishment is inspiring former students to earn degrees in English education and become his colleagues. Outside of teaching English, he has a passion for conservation and ecology in which he implemented a student-led project called Operation Endangered Species that rescued alligator snapping turtles by rehabilitating them in Illinois classrooms to be released into the wild. He also takes his conservation projects globally to places like Istanbul and Turkey.

Kevin Thompson, Laboratory Schools Teacher of the Year

Dr. Kevin Thompson, M.S. ‘02, Ed.D. ‘07, of Normal earned his Master of Science in mathematics and doctorate in mathematics education at Illinois State. He currently serves as the Mathematics Department chair at University High School. His contributions outside the classroom include the creation of a weeklong teacher conference for a district of elementary and high school teachers outside of Nairobi, Kenya. Thompson is proud of his career as an AP calculus teacher mentoring over 500 students, some of whom have gone on to successful career fields such as NASA .