CPS music teacher surprised with award Thursday didn’t set out to be a Black male role model: ‘I kind of fell into this idea that representation matters’

It’s a profession that, like many, has seen unparalleled hardships over the past 14 months, starting when COVID-19 caused an abrupt shutdown of schools. Though teaching music remotely to young children has had its particular challenges, Spears credits his colleagues, his students and their families with rising to the occasion, noting that being adaptable is one of the school’s core values. His students now either are still remote full-time or are in school two days a week.