HUMBOLDT PARK — A seventh- and eighth-grade special education teacher from Frederic Chopin School has been awarded the inaugural GEMS Education Chicago Teacher Award, exclusively awarded to one Chicago educator.
The inaugural award was announced and delivered to Matthew Cunningham at the Chicago Teacher Award gala last week at Chicago’s Field Museum.
Cunningham received a $50,000 cash prize, and will serve as an ambassador for Chicago’s education community and in an advisory role for the GEMS Education Teacher Innovation and Leadership Program, set to launch at the end of this year.
“When I was 10 years old I spent the day with my father at his school for severely mentally impaired students. I vividly remember going home and saying to my mother, ‘That's what I want to do for the rest of my life, work with those kinds of kids,’" Cunningham said in accepting the award.
“The true value of education comes from the successes you see in your students within the community. I’m grateful to be able to spend my life as a teacher and I’m grateful to GEMS Education for this award and for promoting the important work of teachers throughout Chicago," he added.
Cunningham was selected after a competitive application process that was open to all K-12 teachers within the City of Chicago, and he was chosen based on his forward thinking and action-oriented approach to raising the bar of the teaching profession, according to GEMS.
Frederick Williams, principal of Chopin School, nominated Cunningham for the award, and delivered high praise for his work inside and outside the classroom.
“Mr. Cunningham takes students who have posed the greatest challenges emotionally and academically and gets them focused on success,” Williams said. “He has also opened his door to other staff and has shared ideas and best practices so that other teachers can collaborate and improve their own craft.
"He is an excellent teacher and is truly deserving of the Chicago Teacher Award.”
This is the first year of the award, as GEMS Education enters the U.S. market with the first U.S. World Academy opening this fall. Little GEMS International, a preschool in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, has served families since 2012.
“Extraordinary educators are the catalyst for excellence in our students,” said Geoff Jones, Founding Head of School for GEMS World Academy-Chicago. “It’s a powerful thing — to see educators from schools across Chicagoland come together to recognize and celebrate Mr.
Cunningham for his amazing achievements. We are thrilled to partner with Chicago’s education community, and to learn from each other and grow together.”
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