When Dane Erbach looks back on his 18 years as an English teacher at McHenry Community High School, helping launch the student-run McHenry Messenger tops the list of special achievements.
After being named the High School Teacher of the Year by the McHenry County Regional Office of Education in May, Erbach is reflecting on his career thus far, which also includes teaching freshman English classes. He said getting his students to enjoy reading books they like has also been a big highlight.
“In a time when it is actually hard to get kids reading, that feels like a victory,” he said.
Each spring, the McHenry County Regional Office of Education annually recognizes teachers in several different categories. As High School Teacher of the Year, Erbach was among several award winners from throughout McHenry County.
He was also among seven McHenry Community High School District 156 staff members nominated for the variety of categories in the award program.
Erbach said he always figured he’d be a high school teacher to be the kind of teacher he needed when he was in high school. A Fox River Grove native, Erbach went to Lake Forest College to major in English and secondary education. He also worked with the school newspaper. After teaching in the North Shore for about two years, he came to McHenry in 2008.
In addition to a bachelor’s degree, Erbach has a master’s degree in applied professional studies-writing, from DePaul University. He initially took over the Warrior yearbook as an advisor then switched to the newly established McHenry Messenger in the fall of 2019 for its first full school year. He also teaches Introduction to Journalism and Newspaper classes.
Right away, the McHenry Messenger earned several awards from the Illinois Journalism Education Association, including first place in their division for best news website. The digital and print publication continues to win awards every year.
A team of 16 to 22 students each year cover news, politics, sports, arts and more in and around McHenry Community High School. Just this year, the Messenger came out with a Spanish edition of the newspaper.
Another aspect of teaching and advising journalists as well as his English students is helping them learn media literacy and be able to recognize accurate and quality journalism.
“The Messenger is really the reason I wake up every day,” Erbach said. “These kids do magic.”
