Bolingbrook High School Teacher Finalist For Board Of Education Award

BOLINGBROOK, IL — A Bolingbrook High School teacher was named a finalist for the Illinois State Board of Education's Illinois Teacher of the Year award.

Colleen Guccione, who teaches social studies, advanced to the state level after being named the 2024 Far South Suburbs Teacher of the Year, according to officials at Valley View School District 365U.

Guccione joined the district in 2017 to help establish an Advanced Placement Human Geography program at Bolingbrook High School. Officials said her background in curriculum writing "proved useful as she faced the task of designing open enrollment AP courses for ninth graders in a school where most students are historically underrepresented in AP programs."

District officials said Guccione's students regularly outperform school, state and national averages on the AP Human Geography exam.

In a news release, officials cited several of the teacher's achievements, including being a driving force in launching Bolingbrook High School's chapter of the National Social Studies Honor Society and service organization Rho Kappa. Her latest accomplishment is bringing the Illinois Global Scholars program to the school district, with plans for its launch next year.