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More than 68 Stateline middle and high school teachers have been nominated for the 2023 Golden Apple Awards, the most prestigious awards for Winnebago and Boone counties educators. Out of hundreds of nominees, the list will be winnowed down to twenty teachers who will be interviewed and observed in their classrooms. Only five teachers will receive Golden Apple Awards, first in surprise classroom presentations and then at a banquet in April 2024, which include cash awards and a paid educational sabbatical.
The Golden Apple Foundation has been honoring local teachers for 26 years. A separate Chicago-based Golden Apple organization gives awards to teachers statewide, emphasizing schools-of-need in Illinois and New Mexico.
Each year, different grade levels are highlighted. To be eligible for this series of awards, a nominee must currently be teaching full time in a 6th – 12th grade classroom. Both public and private school teachers are eligible.
In March 2023, two local third grade teachers, Crystal Ellis at Stone Creek School in Roscoe and Sarah Shoevlin at Prairie Hill Elementary School in South Beloit, received the honor.
In March 2022, two local literature teachers, Kelli Houghton of Willowbrook Middle School in South Beloit, and Jean Chambers of Hononegah Community High School in Rockton, were given the award.
The 2024 nominees from Stateline schools include: