Frank Tobin, who has been an educator for over thirty years, has recently retired from CPS. He is certified in high school math and special education. He spent 21 of those years teaching at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center School, The Audy Home (now named the Nancy B. Jefferson Alternative School). While at The Audy Home, he changed the lives of many disturbed young men. Frank received the St. Ignatius College Preparatory School Alumni Medal for outstanding commitment to the teaching profession and in 1987 he won the Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Frank assisted in the development of the Golden Apple Scholars program designed to attract and guide young people into the teaching profession. Frank also chaired the planning committee for the Teachers for Chicago program and served as the recruitment coordinator for eight years. This program was designed to attract college graduates from the work force who wish to make a career change and become teachers in Chicago public schools.

Frank believes teaching is the most important of all professions and accepts the 2004 Oppy Award “in the name of all Chicago public school teachers.”