Chad Goetz, director of choral activities at Lockport Township High School, discusses his approach to teaching and how it earned him the William and Mildred Jackson Teacher Recognition Award.
Though he knew at a fairly young age he wanted to be a teacher, it took a meaningful experience in high school to change the trajectory of Chad Goetz’s career.
Sitting on a metal folding chair in a “stiflingly hot choir room,” the then-sophomore struggled to sight read a piece of music that Goetz admits he didn’t look at in advance. Then, something happened that he didn’t expect.
“Midway through that piece, the choir around me swelled in dynamic and emotion to the most glorious tones I had ever heard,” he said. “A cool tingle of goosebumps ran down my spine, and I was forever hooked.”
While memorable, Goetz says one experience can be fleeting. For him, it was more of a beginning — one that led to several musical experiences in the years that followed and ultimately to where he is today: A visual and performing arts teacher and choral director at Lockport Township High School.
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In May, Goetz was selected as this year’s recipient of the William and Mildred Jackson Teacher Recognition Award. It’s been a full-circle moment for Goetz, who was inspired by his teachers and choir directors and now works to inspire his students.
“My experiences in my high school and collegiate choirs taught me more about myself than I thought possible,” he said. “In and through those ensembles, I learned how to work tirelessly in pursuit of excellence, how to be willing to give of yourself for the good of the whole while never losing your individuality and what makes you special and how to be willing to draw on the strengths of others without envy.”
The William and Mildred Jackson Teacher Recognition Award honors an educator who has exhibited special skills in the art and science of teaching. In a news release announcing the award, LTHS sophomore Abigail Sanford said Goetz creates “some of the most fantastic curricular choir performances in Illinois” and goes above and beyond for his students.
“He takes abilities in students who just take choir to use as a mental health support all the way up to those who want to create careers in this field,” she said in the release. “He understands how to respond to each student’s needs. He keeps it fun and interesting, but also teaches so many techniques that most other choirs would not touch upon until they’re in college or in the professional world.”
An educator and choral director for nearly 17 years, Goetz teaches five curricular classes and three extracurricular ensembles. He also directs the music for the school’s annual spring musical.
The Lockport resident says it’s important to him to create a safe space where his students can grow.
“When it is at its best, a choral classroom is a place where everyone is accepted just as they are, but with the understanding that we all can be better,” he said. “Since your voice is such an integral part of who you are, it is incredibly important that within a choir, students feel safe to make mistakes — to aim for incredibly high goals without fear of failure or judgment from their peers.”
Like many teachers, Goetz says his biggest challenge is avoiding burnout.
“Being a choir director means working long hours and late nights and finding ways to balance being a husband and father of two small kids and meeting the needs of my program and students without feeling like you are always falling a bit short,” he said. “But I am fortunate to have a loving and understanding family, enthusiastic and dedicated students, wonderfully supportive choir parents, phenomenal colleagues and work in a school with an administration that genuinely wants to see the arts succeed.”
