The Golden Apple Foundation Surprises Egyptian Community Unit School District #5 Teacher Elissa Miller with Prestigious Award for Excellence in Teaching
CHICAGO (May 9th, 2022) - The Golden Apple Foundation, the leading Illinois-based nonprofit committed to preparing, honoring and supporting great educators who advance educational opportunities for students, today surprised Elissa Miller, a 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade teacher at Egyptian Community Unit School District #5 in Tamms, with the prestigious Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching. Miller is one of 10 teacher award recipients in Illinois.
Following a highly competitive process, the 2022 teaching award recipients were selected from more than 400 nominations of 9th-12th grade teachers.
“We are honored to celebrate our 2022 award recipients and their many contributions both inside and outside of their schools. We know that their impact doesn’t stop at their classroom doors. These amazing teachers positively influence thousands over their lifetimes by shaping the lives of students, schools, and communities,” said The Golden Apple Foundation President Alan Mather. “They are truly inspirational, and we look forward to their continued commitment to the next generation of teachers as they support our two teacher preparation programs - the Golden Apple Scholars and Accelerators programs.”
The Golden Apple Awards for Excellence in Teaching honor outstanding teachers for having lasting, positive effects on students’ lives and school communities. Teacher recipients demonstrate – in their teaching and results – significant, positive impact on their students’ growth and learning.
About Elissa Miller
Through her algebra teachings, Miller has had a positive impact on students by creating a peer-to-peer learning environment that fosters inclusion and group sharing. Instead of working on activities singularly and in silence, Miller’s class is regularly encouraged to share answers, strategies and techniques to solve in-course material, which later benefits students on course exams and quizzes. Miller believes none of this would have been possible had she continued teaching an old, outdated course curriculum that tried to incorporate an inordinate amount of subjects into a single school year. Now she teaches using a curriculum that contains not only more accessible material, but better channels through which students can access that material (games, study guides, self-tests, quizzes and more).
While math isn’t a subject normally tied to cultural underpinnings, Miller hopes to change that through new in-class activities. One such activity involves asking students to create poster summaries of mathematicians before analyzing the different voices and individuals who contributed to fields such as algebra and geometry. In this way and more, Miller constantly goes above and beyond for students, making sure they have both a foundational understanding of core mathematical concepts and a cultural grounding of where and how those concepts were developed.
Each award recipient receives a $5,000 cash award and a spring sabbatical provided by Northwestern University at no cost. Award recipients also become Fellows of the Golden Apple Academy of Educators, a community of educators who play an important role in preparing the next generation of teachers in the Golden Apple Scholars and Accelerators programs - which are dedicated to addressing the teacher shortage in Illinois.
The nomination period for the 2023 Golden Apple Awards for Excellence in Teaching & Leadership is open. All are invited to nominate exceptional 4th-8th grade teachers and Pre-K-12th grade school leaders in Illinois at www.goldenapple.org/awards.
Golden Apple’s social media channels will feature surprises for each of the Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching & Leadership recipients. Follow the news here: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn.
About The Golden Apple FoundationThe Golden Apple Foundation’s mission is to inspire, develop and support teacher and school leader excellence, especially in schools-of-need. Our leading-edge preparation delivers exceptional teachers who make an impact. We help students thrive in the classroom and in life. Since our beginning, we have recognized master educators annually; and, these master educators help prepare the next generation of teachers through both our Golden Apple Scholars (for undergraduates) and Golden Apple Accelerators (for career-changers) programs. Our vision is one in which every classroom has a great teacher and to realize this, we are committed to making a material difference in resolving the teacher shortage. Visit http://www.goldenapple.org for more information.
Media contact:
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johna@theharbingergroup.com