OPRF’s Sheila Hardin Named Best High School Math Teacher in the State

Oak Park and River Forest High School is proud to announce that faculty member Sheila Hardin has been named the state’s best high school math teacher by the Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics (ICTM). 

Hardin is the recipient of ICTM’s annual Excellence in Secondary Mathematics Teaching Award. The honor recognizes a teacher who not only is effective in the classroom but also has shown continued growth as a math educator and contributed to the advancement of mathematics education. 

“Sheila is a credit to the teaching profession,” says Julie Frey, OPRF’s math division head. “After all her years of teaching, she continues to strive to improve her practice through study and curiosity, and she always centers her practice around equity. Sheila is generous with her time and expertise, supporting new and experienced teachers alike.”

An OPRF alum now in her 31st year as an educator, Hardin has spent her entire career at her alma mater, teaching everything from transitional math to Advanced Placement calculus courses. 

“There are few, if any, teachers like her,” says Dr. Paul Karafiol, principal of Lake View High School. Karafiol, who first met Hardin 25 years ago as the coach of a competing math team, describes two of her teaching strategies that he says have been profoundly effective: always having students introduce themselves to each other whenever they’re assigned to random groups, even late in the school year, and including a feedback section on tests, where students can tell her literally anything. “My teachers who have adopted this approach say they learn the most amazing things about their students, and that they build better relationships with their students than ever before."

OPRF math teacher Christine Mondragon did her student teaching under Hardin. “It amazes me that 25 years later, I still continue to learn from her,” Mondragon says. “Sheila has instilled in the teachers at OPRF that as educators, we must never stop learning. There is no such thing as a perfect lesson. Teachers have to keep trying to improve, by taking classes, going to conferences, taking leadership roles in the school, and presenting to other teachers.”

Beyond her work in the classroom, Hardin has presented at national conferences, served as a College Board reader for AP Calculus tests, mentored teachers both locally and nationally, led the OPRF Faculty Senate, sponsored the OPRF Math Team, and helped lead the school’s equity work.

Hardin plans to retire in 2028, though she still loves what she does. Saying that she was shocked and humbled to receive the award, she added that it was a validation of her life choices. “Since I was little, I wanted to be a teacher. But then you get older and look at other options—’Maybe I’ll be an actuary,’ or ‘Maybe I’ll be an engineer.’ But in the end it all came back to teaching. This was the right choice.”