Our Educator of the Year

On Saturday, February 28, Friends of the Chicago River presented the 2025 Educator of the Year award to John Engelbreit of the Chicago Public Schools’ Back of the Yards College Prep on Chicago’s South Side. The prestigious award recognizes outstanding participation in the Chicago River Schools Network (CRSN), Friends’ flagship education program. The award was presented at the 29th annual Chicago River Student Congress held on the campus of Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU).

Engelbreit teaches biology, environmental science, and anatomy and incorporates river curricula developed by the CRSN. He also leads field trips with the CRSN to the river where students conduct water quality tests as well as learn about the persistent harmful effects of litter on the environment. Engelbreit also appreciates how the CRSN helps students act locally by testing the water and cleaning up litter while understanding the importance of environmental stewardship both locally and globally.

 "I'm incredibly honored to receive this recognition from Friends of the Chicago River,” said Engelbreit. “Their work makes environmental education accessible, relevant, and meaningful for my students and students across the city. I am proud to be part of a community that believes in empowering young people to care for our river."

More than 400 students, teachers and parents from across the watershed participated in the Student Congress. The Student Congress is a distinct forum for students to interact in a professional conference-like setting, where they teach each other about science, nature, and climate resiliency using data from their studies of the Chicago-Calumet River system. The Student Congress offers unprecedented access to environmental professionals, which includes NEIU professors as well as students enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences who share their college experiences and river-related course work with participants. The students also learn from and connect with dozens of organizations and government agencies including the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the Forest Preserves of Cook County, and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District. 

 Since its founding in 1996, the CRSN has engaged more than 500,000 students and teachers in science, language, and history activities at river locations, north and south. During the past school year, the CRSN’s student impact was more than 25,000 young people including hands-on experimentation and research on field trips to the river with Friends’ staff, and through the hundreds of teachers who have been trained to use our river curricula.