Edwin Monárrez is a 2024-2025 Teach Plus Illinois Affinity Group Facilitator and grades 9-12 special education teacher, case manager, and wrestling head coach at Maine West High School in Des Plaines, Illinois. He focuses on socio-emotional and academic learning development for students in self-contained special education. Edwin began his career teaching grades 6-8 special education at a therapeutic day school in Westchester and then taught at Glenbard North High School for many years. He has held leadership positions in the National Education Association/Illinois Education Association. Edwin earned his BA in special education, with a Learning Behavior Specialist-1 (LBS) endorsement, from Concordia University Chicago, MEd in special education and multiple LBS-2 endorsements from University of Illinois at Chicago, bilingual endorsement from Northeastern University, and is currently pursuing a doctorate in education policy, organization and leadership with a concentration on diversity, equity, and inclusion at University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.
