'Hands-on' Elgin High School teacher wins top award
At the back of the Mega Center at St. Charles' Pheasant Run Resort Friday, thick, heavy binders detailed the achievements of some of Kane County's top educators.
One of the thickest and heaviest binders was Deb Perryman's.
The unwieldy, bulky binder was filled with pictures, testimonials and letters of thanks chronicling Perryman's 15 years as a teacher and advocate for environmental science.
In those 15 years, Perryman's passion for education and conservation has taken her from Elgin High School, where she teaches an aggressively hands-on science curriculum, to the White House and classrooms across Illinois.
In recognition of her achievements, Perryman on Friday was named Kane County Educator of the Year.
Perryman, attired in a silver blazer and surrounded by her family and students, wiped away tears as she accepted a standing ovation from hundreds of her peers.
The Streamwood resident played the teacher when she took the podium to accept her award.
"What do our kids need from our schools?" she asked.
After an awkward silence, the teachers and administrators shouted out answers: love, respect, support.
Then came the lesson: "I have yet to have someone tell me our kids need to pass a state standardized test," Perryman said to applause and cheers. "We want our young people to do more than bubble in a paper."
The Educator of the Year Award is but the latest in a long list of accolades Perryman has collected in her career as an educator.
Perryman was named Illinois Educator of the Year in 2004, won a 2004 Elgin Image Award, earned her school a Hometown Hero Award for her work preserving Poplar Creek, and was featured in two PBS programs.
Perryman has promoted the teaching of environmental science and conservation in Elgin Area School District U-46 and in schools across the state.
But she has also been active in other areas of education, addressing the effect of illegal immigration on public schools, studying the impact of video games on children and starting a program to help U-46 students recover from drug addiction.
Perryman was one of 25 teachers, administrators and support staff recognized at Friday's 34th annual Kane County Educator Awards Banquet.
The other winners were:
• Support Staff: Ruth Waite, Prairie View Grade School.
• Associate Educator: Carrie Janes, East Aurora High School.
• Elementary Teacher: Anna Richards, John Shields Elementary School.
• Middle School Teacher: Michael Adams, Waldo Middle School.
• High School Teacher: Andrew Johnson, St. Charles East High School.
• Administrator: Francine Eggleston, McDole Elementary School.
• Regional Superintendent Award: Brad Hawk, Central School District 301 and Dave Hatcher, Dundee-Crown High School.
Award: State tests not the point, teacher says