SAU Alumna Honored with IL Teacher of the Year Award

St. Ambrose University alumna Briana Morales, M.Ed. is among 13 finalists and 490 honorees to be recognized by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) for her significant contribution to education across the state. Receiving the title of 2023 Southwest Regional Teacher of the Year, Morales is the very first teacher from an alternative school to earn the prestigious award.

Since 1970, ISBE’s Those Who Excel & Teacher of the Year Awards has celebrated incredible classroom teachers, administrators, teams, volunteers, and school support personnel who have made lasting impacts on the students, families, and fellow educators in their respective school communities. Applications are reviewed and evaluated annually by a selection committee from a variety of educational backgrounds. The winner of the 2023 Teacher of the Year program will be selected by the Illinois State Superintendent of Education later this Spring.

"Out of almost 500 applicants, Briana was selected for this honor because of the positive impact she makes with vulnerable students, her dedication to personalized, competency based education, her passion for educational research and policy development, as well as her commitment to supporting colleagues and future educators through Affinity Groups and more,” said East St. Louis District 189 Superintendent, Arthur Culver.

Morales graduated from St. Ambrose University in 2017 with a degree in education and currently teaches English at Gordon Bush Alternative Center in East St. Louis School District 189 – a community still mourning the loss of over a dozen students to gun violence in just a few years. Her recently published policy brief through Teach Plus Illinois demonstrates her commitment to transforming schools into conduits of healing rather than harm to create educational experiences that allow students to feel seen, heard and free. She uses her love of poetry to help her students process trauma through creative storytelling, a concept she learned from her own 7th grade English teacher.

Morales co-directed a student-led initiative to embed nonviolence principles with youth in the Orr-Weathers housing development and has been instrumental in empowering teen leaders to earn the national Peace Warriors certification. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in diversity and equity in education from the University of Illinois, Urbana- Champaign and currently serves as National Senior Research Fellow with Teach Plus.

“I am so excited to share about the brilliant young people that I get to work with every day here at Gordon Bush Alternative Center,” said Morales. “It is an honor to be a voice as I challenge educators everywhere to rethink alternative education." To view the full list of award honorees and learn more about the Teacher of the Year Award, visit https://www.isbe.net.