Five area elementary teachers nominated for prestigious Golden Apple Award

The Golden Apple Foundation Excellence in Teaching Awards began in 1997. In the beginning, the prestigious award recognized outstanding teachers in elementary and high schools in the Rockford, Illinois School District.

Since that time, the Golden Apple Foundation has expanded and now recognizes outstanding teachers throughout Winnebago and Boone County.

Four teachers in the Kinnikinnick School District in Roscoe, and one teacher from the Prairie Hill School District in South Beloit, are among the 2025 finalists.

• Elizabeth Wecker – fourth and fifth math, ELA, Kinnikinnick School, Roscoe, Illinois
• Betsy Dohm – Special Education, Stone Creek School, Roscoe, Illinois
• Danielle Vanek – Fifth grade English and literature – Willowbrook School, South Beloit, Illinois
• Ashley Weidman – First grade, Ledgewood School, Roscoe, Illinois
• Jackie Weerda – Kindergarten, Ledgewood School, Roscoe, Illinois

A total of 1,450 nominations [PDF] were submitted to the Golden Apple Foundation. Twenty finalists were selected from Winnebago and Boone Counties. The finalists will be observed in their classrooms by trained community volunteers on three separate occasions between Jan. 21 and Feb. 19, 2025. The next step is individual interviews.

The final process is the selection of five teachers who will get a surprise visit in their classrooms and presented with the prestigious Golden Apple Award.

The Golden Apple Excellence in Education Banquet, honoring and recognizing the exceptional teachers will be held Friday, April 25, 2025. The event is sponsored by Collins Aerospace and Bergstrom Inc. and Collins Aerospace.

A previous version of this story understated the number of nominees and overstated what Danielle Vanek teaches. We regrets the errors.