© 2024 WNIJ and WNIU
Northern Public Radio
801 N 1st St.
DeKalb, IL 60115
815-753-9000
Northern Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
WNIJ News and NPR is committed to connecting you with the latest news related to COVID-19 in northern Illinois and across the country. We are taking precautions to keep staff safe while providing you with the resources you need. Thank you for your continued support which allows us to remain your trusted source on the coronavirus pandemic.

A Year Later, Looking Back At The Last Day Of School Before COVID-19 | Teachers' Lounge Podcast

On a new episode of Teachers' Lounge: Jackie Cleven! She’s a second-grade teacher at South Prairie Elementary in Sycamore and teaches at Kishwaukee College. Longtime Teachers’ Lounge fans may remember Jackie as the first guest who was ever on this show. She shared a personal essay about how she feels at the end of the school year. Host Peter Medlin always felt a little bad because she’s our only guest who was never actually interviewed -- so we wanted to fix that, more than a year-and-a-half and 40+ episodes later.

We talked about her career, coming back to in-person classes during the pandemic, getting vaccinated and -- just like the first episode -- we talked about how she felt at the end of the school year last March when COVID-19 ended it all so abruptly.

Have you had an awesome teacher, coach or professor that inspired you who deserves a spotlight? Send your nominations to teacherslounge@niu.edu. While you're there, tell us about an education story or topic we should cover on Teachers' Lounge. Also, subscribe to us and leave a rating wherever it is you listen to the show!

SHOW NOTES

Educator in this episode:

Jackie Cleven

Stories Featured in this episode:

Retired Music Teacher Continues To Inspire Rockford Community Through The Arts

Music:

Our show's theme music is from the northern Illinois-based band "Kindoves" and their songs "Popn," "Origins" and "Quiche." You can find more of their music on their Soundcloud page. You can also listen to the episode of WNIJ's own Sessions from Studio A where they were featured.

Teachers! People who know teachers! People with stories about teachers! Send us an email and be part of the show! Also, send us your topic recommendations: teacherslounge@niu.edu