Elk Grove teacher to be honored on-field before college football championship

Elk Grove High School teacher Ricky Castro - the 2017 Illinois Teacher of the Year - will be honored on-field before tonight's college football national championship game in Atlanta.

Castro, a World Languages teacher, will be joined by other state teachers of the year before the national anthem. The game, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, will be televised at 7 p.m. on ESPN.

Castro was named Teacher of the Year by the Illinois State Board of Education for his coordination of a student mentorship program and Latino parent outreach group at Elk Grove, where he's taught for the last four years.

Castro's appearance is the culmination of a weekend of events for teachers sponsored by the College Football Playoff Foundation and Council of Chief State School Officers, which coordinates the National Teacher of the Year Program.

"This is an incredible honor for incredibly deserving educators," State Superintendent of Education Tony Smith said in a news release. "I'm inspired to see the platform of the National Championship used to highlight excellent educators, especially as the state works to grow the number of diverse young people becoming teachers."