Rachael Mahmood hugs her Georgetown Elementary School students after her announcement of Illinois Teacher of Year. The Aurora teacher will visit schools around the state working to enhance educators’ work. (Provided photo)

Rachael Mahmood is still waiting for that bike.

“My dad wanted me to be a doctor. He said, ‘You need to be a doctor. You be a doctor and I will buy you a brand new sports car,’” said Mahmood, a fifth-grade teacher in Indian Prairie Community Unit School District 204.

“When I told him I was going to be a teacher, he said, ‘I’ll buy you a bicycle.’”

Choosing education for a career path has worked out for Mahmood though as she is the 2024 Illinois Teacher of the Year. The 19-year teaching veteran will spend the coming school year working with educators throughout the state to enhance their efforts in the classroom.

Mahmood, a teacher at Georgetown Elementary School in Aurora, has plenty planned for her sabbatical year from teaching.

“I will do a lot of speaking engagements and I plan to start a podcast to elevate the voices of educators,” Mahmood said. “I will work with regional (Teacher of the Year) winners to help amplify the skills of teachers in their region.”

She also will do meet-and-greets at schools throughout the state.

“I love to visit schools. I will go to a few every week to see what is happening and to bring positive vibes,” Mahmood said. “I will do whatever I can do to help. I will visit schools and hang out a lot with teachers. It should be a lot of fun.”

The daughter of a Russian Jew and Indian Hindu, Mahmood want to use her platform as Teacher of the Year to raise awareness of various cultures.

“The culture identity experience is one of the greatest gifts to the classroom, to create spaces where

students have a true sense of belonging,” Mahmood said. “We need schools to be real places of

Tony Sanders, state superintendent of education, announces Mahmood as Teacher of the Year during a ceremony at Georgetown Elementary School. (Provided photo)

inclusion. That goes for teachers, too. We want people of different cultures to stay in education. You can feel like an outlier. We want a diverse cultural identity.”

She said for too long educational institutions moved against assimilation.

“Now, we want to have schools make spaces for and value other cultures,” Mahmood said.

The Plainfield resident said that in school she was often the only person of color and the only non-Christian.

“They were subtle lessons,” Mahmood said. “No one said, ‘We don’t get you,’ but when you look around and no one looks like you, it says something. When on your most special holiday, there is not one thing to honor your heritage, it says something.

“I’ve heard racially insensitive comments. I’ve heard antisemitic comments … I never did feel that other cultures were represented. I was the only brown kid in Jewish Sunday school. We never talked about my history. I never learned that Asian-Americans have been here since the 1600s.

“I vowed to be that teacher who would normalize identities and show different cultures’ richness.”

Mahmood said she has talked about Filipino colonists because of a Filipino student in her class.

Her students have read books about Vietnam refugees and collected supplies for refugees from Afghanistan.

“I want them to see little pieces of their culture in the classroom,” Mahmood said. “I want them to make full circles, to see how it is all connected.”

She said making students feel included is vital for their emotional well-being.

“You can really focus on what divides us or you can focus on what unites us,” the educator said. “At the end of the day, we all care about children and what we want is what’s best for them.

Mahmood receives the Teacher of the Year Award at the Those Who Excel banquet. (Provided photo)

“You want them to feel special. You want them to learn. We all want a sense of belonging. Who helps me feel like I belong? Who creates a sense of belonging? I realized that potion lies in me. I am not just going to look outside at what administrators or colleagues do. I can take steps myself. I can try to be intentionally on what steps I take. I can help other people. Those are steps for me. I can create the environment in education we all hope for.”

The Downers Grove native said she was totally taken off guard when suddenly on a Zoom call with state Superintendent of Education Tony Sanders after being called to the principal’s office.

“I thought I was in trouble. Why else would I need to talk to the principal?” Mahmood asked, with a laugh. “I thought some parents had complained about me.”

“I had no idea. It was a total surprise,” she said of Sanders’ announcement. “I was shocked. There are a hundred pictures of how shocked I was.”

Sanders selected Mahmood, who holds a doctorate from Northern Illinois University, from 13 finalists across the state. During her ambassadorship, Mahmood will represent Illinois on the national stage in the National Teacher of the Year program, sponsored by the Council of Chief State School Officers.

“Amidst an incredibly talented pool of educators across our state, Dr. Mahmood rose to the forefront,” Sanders said. “Despite never feeling like she belonged in school as a student, she became a teacher and found her calling.

“Her journey fuels her passion for making each of her students understand that they belong. She has

Mahmood talks to students at Georgetown Elementary about receiving the teaching award. (Provided photo)

passion for the craft of teaching and embodies the qualities of an exceptional educator and inspiring leader. I could not imagine a more qualified candidate to hold the title of Illinois Teacher of the Year and to serve as our ambassador for the teaching profession.”

Mahmood said the kids are the reason she comes to work every day.

“I am surrounded by unconditional love. I get to read and write stories and do science things. It doesn’t feel like work,” she said. “I feel so incredibly lucky. When you are passionate enough about something, it makes it easy and the days fly by.

“It’s easy to wake up when you love what you do. I tell my students that when you pick a career be passionate about what you are going to do.”

Even if you don’t get a bike.

To request Mahmood or 2023 Illinois Teacher of the Year Briana Morales, an English teacher at the Gordon Bush Alternative Center in East St. Louis, for a speaking engagement or other event, go to

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=hv5kA8ZJ9Eq1LDNameV30db7VjmPR2FFimm83iV5R5FUMUFEUlNWUEhZM0lSWFNLSzlPODg4NFgzOC4u.