Golden Apple Foundation for Excellence in Teaching

Programs: Golden Apple has three major operating programs: Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois, Golden Apple Awards for Excellence in Teaching, and Golden Apple STEM Institute. The Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois program recruits and prepares a diverse group of bright and talented high school graduates and college sophomores who have the promise for successful careers as excellent teachers in high-need schools throughout Illinois. The Scholars program serves highly motivated young people, often from minority and low-income communities, who demonstrate the ability to teach in low-income and low-scoring schools. Those selected must commit to teaching for five years in high-need Illinois schools. More than 1,000 Scholars are either teaching or preparing to teach in inner-city, rural and other Illinois classrooms of need. While 30% of new teachers in the U.S.leave the profession within three years, 85% of Scholars remain teaching in needy classrooms for at least five years. Every year since 1986, Golden Apple has chosen 10 outstanding teachers in the Chicago area to receive the Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching. Starting in 2008, Golden Apple Central Illinois presents the award to 10 teachers in the central Illinois region.The awardees receive a paid sabbatical at either Northwestern University or University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and are honored on a one-hour public television program in Chicago and the central Illinois region. The awardees are inducted into the Golden Apple Academy of Educators.The Awards program serves teachers and their school communities by honoring outstanding classroom educators, providing them with further university study and the opportunity to devise new educational programs to benefit elementary and high school students across Illinois.As Fellows of the Golden Apple Academy of Educators, the Award winners have created many of the nation's best preparation, professional development and support programs for teachers. The Academy has directly helped more than 5,000 Illinois teachers become more effective in the classroom and has indirectly helped tens of thousands of others. Golden Apple offers STEM workshops and seminars to teachers at all stages of the career. Offerings include the Science Workshop, which introduces inquiry science techniques to elementary school teachers; Storytelling Workshos, where teachers learn to incorporate storytelling in their lesson planning; and CORE, the Center for Ongoing Renewal and Enrichment, where Golden Apple Scholars and their colleagues take part in seminars and reflective activities to enrich their professional lives.Professional development programs also include the Teaching Excellence Network, an online community for teachers to engage in thoughtful discussion peers.In addition, Golden Apple is planning a Teaching Excellence Center to provide transformative professional seminars, allowing teachers to work together to improve teaching and student performance at their schools.More than 5,000 Illinois teachers have attended Golden Apple professional development workshops.The professional development program provides teachers with a wide range of instructional skills to meet the equally wide range of students' learning styles. The program equips teachers with the sophisticated skills necessary to be effective in schools of greatest need. The programs address the individual school as the unit of change and are consistently high in quality.