English teacher Mr. Dillin Randolph was named Cook County Co-Regional Teacher of the Year 2024. He was also named one of 13 finalists for the Teacher of the Year Award, the state’s top honor for teachers. The award is to honor educators who have made significant contributions to the state’s elementary and secondary schools.
Mr. Randolph’s career has been characterized by a passion for combating racism by interweaving anti-racist themes in his teaching.
“One thing I like to do is talk about anti-racism through the literature we read. There are certain books that I teach like All American Boys by Jason Reynolds or Stamped by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi, and what I try to do is teach them certain skills in English class like argument or rhetorical analysis or literary analysis,” Randolph said.
“I’m trying to teach them that skill, but I do it through the lens of anti-racism and what these books are really talking about. So I try to make sure that I can teach them a skill in the classroom while teaching them a skill in the world of how they should be able to interact with others around us in society.”
Mr. Randolph also highlights the excellence of people of different cultures and races in the classroom.
“It’s Black History Month and I do something called a Black fact at the beginning of class so I have a quick little fact about some person students may not know about in Black history,” Mr. Randolph said. “I do it for Women’s History Month, I do it for American Pacific Islander Month, I do it for Hispanic Heritage Month.”
Throughout Mr. Randolph’s career, his goal has been to make learning fun.
“I want to make sure students love learning; learning, reading and writing are things that I feel people think are hard and I feel they’re not but sometimes we can make it seem that way. In the classroom, what we must do is make learning and reading and writing seem interesting, normal,” Mr. Randolph said.
Mr. Randolph’s co-teacher Ms. Liz Dribin remembers being overjoyed when she learned that he won an award.
“I screamed over text message and then I went home and I told my husband and I cried because I was so happy for him…I knew how he made me feel so when I saw that he won that, I knew he was beyond deserving and I felt very emotional,” Dribin said.
Sophomore Diti Ghandi, one of his students, appreciates how he makes an effort to encourage his students.
“He always encourages us to put our best foot forward and it’s been amazing being in class with him,” sophomore Diti Ghandi said.
When he’s not in the classroom, Mr. Randolph is involved with the NCTE Committee Against Racism & Bias, an organization working to make sure that teachers are well-informed about world events and issues. He has also worked with other teachers in the district to develop a class focusing on Stories of the African Diaspora.
“We’re trying to make sure that we give teachers resources to be able to speak confidently and accurately and in a way that is not harmful to students about what’s going on in the world,” Mr. Randolph said.
Applicants were evaluated by a selection committee composed of individuals who represent a variety of educational organizations. All awardees are honored at an annual banquet in the Spring.
