If you’ve ever walked the hallways at Lincoln Elementary School in DeKalb, you may have noticed a buzz among students, faculty and staff about the Iditarod.

Jenni Smith, a veteran educator who’s been teaching for about 25 years, said she always likes to remind her eighth-grade math students at Huntley Middle School in DeKalb that you can’t get from the bottom to the top-most landing without doing all the steps in between.

Knowing more than one language is a value that Joette Ball cherishes. “It’s not a hobby, it’s a skill,” she said. Ball has two children who are enrolled in DeKalb School District 428‘s two-way dual-language program.

Sycamore educator Annette Keca is going to space. Sort of. To be more precise, she’s been selected as one of 80 educators across the country to participate in a prestigious Teacher Innovator Institute at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

A group of social workers, teachers and coaches at Sycamore High School has come together to form a coalition to support student athletes’ health, both body and mind.

By all accounts, Sycamore Middle School career and technical education teacher Kevin Boltz has gone above and beyond to give his students access to equipment that some only see once they’ve arrived on a college campus.

From our Thank You Teachers special section: Read the letters sent by students and parents to DeKalb County teachers

Multiple Kishwaukee College educators and staff recently received accolades for their efforts inside and out of the classroom.

Few educators wear as many hats as Mark Sykes, according to testimony from colleagues who recently sang his praises for an award recognition. Sykes, a 32-year veteran educator with DeKalb School District 428, has been named the 2025 Wirtz Award for Excellence in Education recipie