Martino Junior High teacher recognized by Toyota, KISS FM

Brandon Kilstrom, a social studies teacher at Martino Junior High in New Lenox, received $250 from Toyota through "Toyota Teacher Salute."

The competition was held through 103.5 KISS FM to recognize the work teachers are doing. Kilstrom was nominated by his girlfriend, Allison Allen, and at first was reluctant to talk about the award until he saw the outpouring support on Facebook from current parents and former students.

There was a form to fill out online to nominate a teacher online and he was recognized on 103.5 on Tuesday, for people to write why the teacher is deserving.

"I guess my girlfriend is a good writer," he said with a laugh.

Kilstrom said it felt good to win the award and see the names of people who commented on and liked the Facebook post in the New Lenox group page.

"Lots of former students were commenting, saying 'how deserving,' which was amazing," he said. "It felt good to see last names that I recognized. You do hear 'thank you' and 'good job' a lot at parent-teacher conferences."

Kilstrom is not one for "self promoting" as his job at Martino is his calling, he said.

He has been teaching at the school for 18 years.

"It starts with the school and the amazing principals we've had," he sad. "They all have the teachers' backs and look out for us, and respect the work we do."

He said some teachers think long-term about getting into the principal's chair, but that's not him.

"I love where I'm at," he said. "My calling is in the classroom. Teaching seventh and eighth grade keeps me young and vibrant. With them, I can get them energized to learn.

"Those students make it easy for us to do our job. I've never thought about leaving. I wake up and I'm excited to get to work. When I leave work, I'm excited to wake up and get back."