A suburban theater teacher helps high school students in Mount Prospect hone their talents performing on stage.
Now, Jeremy Morton is getting some much-deserved applause of his own, being named teacher of the year in a national contest.
Morton was preceded into the theater by a drum line on Wednesday. It was a school celebration for the man everyone there knows as J-Mo, and everyone knows him.
Morton is the national teacher of the year in a contest sponsored by BUBBL’R, and the school gets a $10,000 prize.
He has taught theater at Prospect High School for the last quarter century.
“He one of the most inspiring people I know,” Prospect High School senior student Quanin Brooks said. “He is the reason I do theater.”
A parent nominated him for the contest. There were more than a thousand teachers from around the country nominated but once he became one of the 10 finalists the campaign was on. Voters were allowed one vote a day for the seven-day contest, and the school and the district waged a furious social media campaign.
“What was really exciting about this whole experience is that I heard from students who I had not heard from in years,” Morton said.
But those students and the entire community voted in massive numbers. BUBBL’R representatives say he won in a landslide. His students say he has made quite an impact.
It helps that J-Mo happens to drink BUBBL’R, but the award also comes at a time when he is dealing with serious personal issues. He recently received a donor kidney from the relative of a former student, and his wife is battling cancer. It’s been quite a year.
“For me, even though I teach theater, I don’t love the spotlight,” Morton said. “But this was a cool way to shine a spotlight on our fine arts program here at Prospect High School.”
J-Mo says he has yet to figure out how to spend the $10,000, but he says he’s sure it will be put to good use promoting the fine arts program at Prospect.
