John Deery

Teacher: John Deery

Subject: AP Language and World Mythology

School: Belvidere High School

Teaching experience: 8 years at BHS, 16 years total

What did a nominator or recommender say about this teacher?

• “There’s a reason even students who don’t typically like English class, love his class. He knows how to break things down, so students understand and stay engaged. He cares about his students and is always willing to work with them to figure out what will help them succeed both in his class and outside of school.” – a peer nomination
• “He never gave us the easy way out of things. He is truly a great teacher, in and out of the classroom. He has truly changed my life. Someday I wish to be an amazing teacher and leader just like him.” – a student’s letter of recommendation

What does this teacher say? At a particularly low point, John contemplated how easy it would be to just commit to being average. And he felt ashamed. From that point, he committed to being great. He wrote, “be great for them every single day” on the top of a framed photo of his family to visualize his goal not just for them, but also for students and colleagues. “Being great wasn’t about being perfect; it was embracing the adventure and excitement of taking risks and trying new things.” He changed his teaching methods, how he managed student learning, his expectations and how he keeps families part of the classroom. As a result, students became less content with just satisfactory scores, started taking more risks and started to trust their developing skills.

What else do we know? He has been innovative in his approach to intervention and support through the adoption of No Red Ink and Mastery Prep materials. The school’s ELA achievement on the most recent school report card was the highest in four years, with his leading efforts to prepare students for standardized assessments.