Four North Shore School District 112 Teachers Selected as Golden Apple Finalists

March 28, 2012

Four district teachers have been named as finalists for the Golden Apple Awards for Excellence in Teaching: Braeside kindergarten teacher Monica Biegel,  Oak Terrace Dual Language second-grade teacher Judy Kim, Wayne Thomas second-grade teacher David Meekhof, and Indian Trail second-grade teacher Lindsey Ryan Petlack.  

More than 600 teachers from the Chicago-metropolitan area were nominated for the prestigious teaching award, and the four district 112 teachers are among just 32 finalists selected.  They will be honored at a Golden Apple reception on Saturday, April 21.

Having four teachers attain finalist status from a district the size of North Shore School District 112 is an amazing accomplishment, said Superintendent of Schools David L. Behlow. “It speaks to the high quality of teachers and the quality of education we provide in our district,” he said. This is Biegel's 11th year in the district, Kim's 12th year. Meekhof's seventh year and Petlak's first year.  

The Golden Apple website lists each of the finalists and why each was chosen:

Monical Biegel teaches kindergarten in a historic landmark school which sets the stage for community pride.  She continuously reinforces the importance of student voice, whether in a classroom of adults or with one of her 5-year-olds.  Community building in Monica’s classroom is central to the success of her kindergartners, and it extends to their families. 

Judy Kim feels that creating a positive learning environment is incredibly important in order to keep her 2nd grade Dual Language learners motivated and wanting to learn.  Judy takes each student where they are academically, and tries to understand what the student needs from her.  She feels it can be anything from more time given to accomplish a task in order for students to produce ehat they believe is their best work, to giving them a hug because she senses something has gone wrong with their day.  She thinks patience and understanding is what every child needs in order to grow and become the amazing individual they have the power to become.

David Meekhof reminds himself often that he is educating children for careers that don’t yet exist.  He feels educators often herald technology as the barometer of future success.  But unplug the computer and hwiteboards, let the batteries drain from the iPads and laptops, and he is left with second graders who nned a solid founation to succeed wheter wired or unplugged.  David’s students work in teams to solve problems, communicate and make connections.  Students report to the class on their partner’s input, and David often takes a student’s seat and the student becomes the leader to share ideas or demonstrate thinking.

To create magical, adventurous learning experiences for her 2nd graders, Lindsey Ryan Petlak implements year-long thematic instruction which engages and motivates students.  They “travel” on “Flight 125” where Lindsey serves as pilot.  Students are tourists, aiming to achieve their own pilot status by June.  Before school starts, Lindsey sends students realistic boarding passes.  Class jobs are modeled after airline responsibilities.  They have Pilot of the Week, and all activities are travel-themed.  For behavior management, students earn frequent flyer miles (FFM).  At the end of each month, students receive FFM checks and use their earnings at the “souvenir shop”. Lindsey feels this is an effective motivation system, and it als incorporates knowledge of money, goods/services, and spending/saving standards.

Over the next month, Golden Apple will interview the teachers, their colleagues, district administrators, parents, students and former students, and conduct classroom observations.  From there, 10 of the 32 finalists will be chosen as Golden Apple winners.  The 10 finalists receive $3,000 in cash from the Golden Apple Foundation, a paid semester sabbatical at Northwestern University, and induction into the Golden Apple Academy of Educators.  If any of the four win the award, it will mark the second year in a row that the district has a Golden Apple winner. Last year, Braeside fourth-grade teacher Howie Templer won the award.