Shanon Laidig, a sixth grade math teacher at ’s Creekside Middle School, is this year’s Educator of the Year. It’s a profession she’s mastered but didn’t start out in. “We are fortunate to have so many outstanding educators in District 200 and Shanon Laidig is an example of one of our very best,” District 200 Superintendent Mike Moan said.
“Shannon connects with her students and creates fun, engaging and highly educational lessons on a daily basis. She works tirelessly to support her students in and out of the classroom.” Diana Hartmann, McHenry County Regional Office of Education superintendent, said Laidig’s ability to engage students made her stand out among 27 “outstanding” nominees.
“Shanon Laidig has a welcoming classroom where every student is contributing, encouraged, and the social-emotional well being of every student is evident,” Hartmann said in a news release. The regional superintendent sponsors the awards “to honor outstanding educators in a variety of roles working in schools across the county,” the release said. Here’s more about this year’s top award winner, who received $1,000 from the Community Foundation of McHenry County to use in her classroom.
Laidig got her degree in environmental science and took a job in the environmental field right out of school. But she’d long had an interest in teaching. “It was always inside me,” Laidig said.
Within a year of graduating and starting her job, she was taking night classes.
