We Love Illinois Schools

About We Love Illinois Schools

We are the Illinois State Board of Education, and we love Illinois schools. We are inspired by the passionate and innovative people who have dedicated their lives to Illinois students. Join us as we learn about their journeys into education, what they’re proud of, and what keeps them coming back to education every day. Listen in to a new podcast from ISBE. Have an idea for a great guest? Email Dusty Rhodes at drhodes@isbe.net.

Publisher

Illinois State Board of Education

Category

education

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

1 Apr 2020

Latest episode

8 May 2026

Latest episodes

22 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   8 May 2026

   A Conversation with Víctor Gómez, our 2025 Teacher of the Year

   We sit down with Víctor Gómez, Illinois’ 2025 Teacher of the Year, to unpack what bilingual STEM education looks like when it’s treated as rigorous, affirming, and truly equitable Víctor shares his monarch butterfly story from Michoacán, Mexico, where migration, memory, and identity meet, and how that metaphor helps communities reframe bilingualism as something to celebrate. He also connects the monarch phenomenon back to the classroom with STEM instruction, showing how a cultural narr...

2. 

   3 Feb 2026

   It All Adds Up! John SanGiovanni Explains Numeracy

   As ISBE’s team tours the state collecting feedback on the second draft of our Illinois Comprehensive Numeracy Plan, we wanted to share this fun conversation with math education expert, John SanGiovanni, who has authored more than 20 best-selling books on the topic. He sees math — and numeracy — in daily activities that everybody does, and says we all do more math than we give ourselves credit for. Learn more about our plan at www.isbe.net/NumeracyPlan.

3. 

   21 Apr 2025

   We can do it differently

   “Some of us come into teaching because we always loved school. Some of us come into teaching because we didn't love school, and we want to change something about it.” That’s a glimpse into Dr. Rachael Mahmood’s journey. With a Russian Jewish mother and an Indian Hindu dad, Rachael never felt like she fit in when she was a child attending school. That experience fueled her desire to become an educator, and now, Dr. Mahmood is wrapping up her term as our 2024 Illinois State Teacher of the...

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 23 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

33

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

32

Contact We Love Illinois Schools

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.