Meet this year’s Golden Apple Award teachers
Five Golden Apple-winning teachers shared their stories Wednesday. Meet them here.
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MEET THIS YEAR’S GOLDEN APPLE AWARD-WINNING TEACHERS
Five teachers – three from Tippecanoe School Corp., one from Lafayette School Corp. and one from the Greater Lafayette Career Academy – were officially added to a corps of Golden Apple Award winners Wednesday.
Joining 185 previous winners since 1987, the teachers who came from a group of 136 nominations offered by parents, former students, teachers and principals included:
Ellen DeFreese, Cole Elementary
Amy Freeman, Edgelea Elementary
Carol Howard, Dayton Elementary
Angie Marks, Cole Elementary
Diann Vernon, Greater Lafayette Career Academy
Each winner received $1,000 for the honor sponsored by Greater Lafayette Commerce.
Meet the winners from Wednesday’s night’s ceremony at the Greater Lafayette Career Academy, the words from their nominators and GLC-produced video interviews.
Diann Vernon
School/grade: Greater Lafayette Career Academy, education professions
Years teaching: 37
In her words: Vernon said she was a sixth-generation teacher.
“It’s kind of a thing, what we do in our family,” Vernon said. “I can remember when I was younger, there was not a single place that we’d go without my parents running into a former student. They would stop to chat, and I would cringe and roll my eyes and beg them to come on, let's go. …
“But now I understand the true meaning of why they stopped and took the time to chat,” Vernon said. “And oddly enough, I have turned into my parents in that regard, because now I do the exact same thing. I'm the one that stopped to chat. Now I get it, and I understand. I do love seeing my students thrive in the community, and I love stopping chat and see how they're doing, watching them flourish. Knowing that I've made a positive difference in their life is truly rewarding … I aim to inspire them to be the very best version of themselves, by teaching them to be courageous and to be kind. By encouraging students to take chances, daring them to dream, to take risks, to learn from failure, it will develop confidence, resilience and character.”
A former student’s comments from her nomination: “Mrs. Vernon is someone that makes someone who just met her feel like they have known her for years. … She got to know who we were as people, and not just as students.”
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Carol Howard
School/grade: Kindergarten, Dayton Elementary
Years teaching: 14
In her words: Howard said she went to college at age 36 after she was assigned as a Title I classroom aide, a role that came when she initially applied for a job as a computer lab tech at her children’s school. She said that working with the kindergarteners and first-graders there, she connected with students who had struggled the way she had. She said the move startled her mother, who reminded her about how she’d hated school so much.
“As a student, I struggled from Day 1,” Howard said. “As a 5-year-old with undiagnosed ADHD and vision problems, school was incredibly challenging for me. Teachers gave up on me, and eventually I gave up on myself. Those foundational years that should have fostered a love for learning instead fostered a negative attitude toward school that lasted until graduation. …
“I wanted to be the teacher I desperately needed as a child,” Howard said. “Someone who makes every student feel valued, loved and supported. I was determined to ensure that no child in my classroom would ever feel the same sense of failure and disconnection that I experienced.”
A parent’s comments from the nomination: “I heard nothing but wonderful things about Carol from other parents in the past. When my son started kindergarten I knew I wanted her as his teacher. I was so happy when he was assigned to Carol and now I know why! She truly is phenomenal with all her students and fights for their growth. She truly meets each student at their level and pushes them in the best way to strive for growth and improvement, not just in their education, but as a young leader and friend.”
Her principal’s comments: Dayton principal Ryan Simmons wrote, “Mrs. Howard is one of our most requested teachers at Dayton Elementary School. When students are in her class, the parents then want the younger siblings to also be in her classroom. She is able to create fun and engaging lessons that help our students grow academically, emotionally and socially. Mrs. Howard also serves on our staff cheer committee where she volunteers to create things for our new staff members to welcome them to the building and helps to plan team building activities for our staff. Mrs. Howard truly wants the best for not only her students, but also for Dayton Elementary School.”
Amy Freeman
School/grade: Edgelea Elementary, K-4 multilingual
Years teaching: 18
In her words: In her acceptance speech, Freeman talked about coming full circle at Edgelea, first coming to the LSC elementary school as a third-grader, so terrified that she had a “koala grip” on her teacher. Later, at Lafayette Jeff, she was in a class that put her in the neighboring Durgan Elementary to work in classrooms, where she volunteered at every grade level to know which one she wanted to teach at some point.
“I was addicted to the feeling of helping kids learn and feel good about themselves,” Freeman said.
Freeman told a story about how students, who had native languages other than English, exited her classes when they passed a test that showed their English proficiency. Freeman said one fourth-grader told her that she was going to purposely fail the test so she could stay in Freeman’s class.
“I said, ‘What?’” Freeman said. “‘Thank you for telling me that. Let’s work on a compromise. I'm glad you're advocating for yourself, but let's do it in a more effective way.’ I feel it's really important. She really opened my eyes to what I need to teach all my kids – how to advocate correctly, how to advocate for themselves in a way that's best for her and everyone. … Basically, I look at life like a runway, and I want to help my students put on their crown. I want to help them straighten it, and I want to help them walk with confidence. I want them to be able to do things and know that they feel good about themselves and know that they have purpose in life.”
Her principal’s comments: Principal Ana Ave wrote in the Golden Apple nomination about work Freeman did to help prepare Edgelea for state approval of LSC’s first dual language immersion classroom, which started this school year. “She lead the charge at Edgelea by helping students and teachers create a schoolwide video sharing the love, joy and the instructional support available to our multilanguage students,” Ave wrote. “Most importantly, Amy was able to capture the passion and climate she has helped create at Edgelea when supporting multilingual students. These children come to school and English is their second language. Mrs. Freeman has taught our staff and students that this is NOT a disadvantage. This is a super power to be embraced. Mrs. Freeman makes every child and every adult she works with feel valued and appreciated. … This has been a very well received program that has parents from all over Tippecanoe County inquiring about how their child can get into this program.”
Angie Marks
School/grade: Cole Elementary third grade
Years teaching: 25
In her words: Marks said her road to being a teacher started when she was prodded into subbing in a Sunday school class and wound up changing her major in school from broadcasting to education because of it.
“Nestled inside my favorite book, in the book of Daniel, it talks about how we all have our own personal book,” Marks said. “Each of our books is written about the destiny of Earth, man and God’s creation. Our individual book is a written record of all that God us planned for our lives. … Now, if it's not in your book to be a teacher, that's OK. Just know that gifts and purposes are woven into your DNA. But for us sitting here, and for those teachers out there, it is by His grace that we have figured out that part of our book is being a teacher. We did nothing special. He just makes us look really, really good.”
A parent’s comments from her nomination: “My son always comes home with a life lesson that Mrs. Marks has shared a story about. … She has let my son be the quirky, musical, talkative kid he is and has never once complained, but instead has said, ‘How can we use that to our advantage?’”
Her principal’s comments: Principal Mike Pinto wrote, “Angie is someone who is not afraid to try new techniques and who is an early adopter when there is a need which arises from a curricular level. Her classroom is always open and she is someone that parents trust. Trust – such an important piece of any teacher’s resume – but one that all who come through our doors know will occur with Angie Marks. … Angie is the kind of teacher that when someone mentions our school’s name, people say, ‘Angie Marks works there.’”
Ellen DeFreese
School/grade: Third grade, Cole Elementary
Years teaching: 26
In her words: DeFreese talked about the welcome handshakes she shares with students each morning – “I tell them they have to give me until October to memorize them all,” she said – and about Molly “the calming cow,” a micro-mini Highland that is her daughter’s and lives on their farm, that she brings to Cole several times a year. She said she was the kind of student who always loved her teachers and eventually brought qualities from the best of them into her classrooms, covering 26 years at Cole.
“When I reflect on my career, I always come back to how truly bless I have been to teach at Cole, and only Cole,” DeFreese said. “Over those years, my colleagues have become my family and my students like my own. Our theme – when you're here, you're home – fits our building perfectly. We have created a climate over the years that many comment on the second they walk through our doors. It feels different, because it is. It's a school filled with staff members who care and who go above and beyond for students who fill our classrooms, cafeterias, special areas and playgrounds. … My fellow teachers at Cole, who are also very deserving of this award, serve as a work family who truly care about one another and the well-being of our students. Again, they are the ones who make our ability to live up to the theme, when you're here, you’re home.”
A parent’s comments from the nomination: “She is genuine with all her students. … Come on! She is the owner of Molly the cow! Just an example of the love she displays toward all students and her school.”
Her principal’s comments: Cole Principal Mike Pinto wrote in her nomination about a student who came from a chaotic home dealing with a mom with addiction issues. “The little girl needed someone to care and make her feel safe. Thankfully, she drew Mrs. DeFreese’s card as her teacher,” he wrote. “School is hard as a third-grader sometimes. It’s harder when life is chaotic at home. Everything was off with the young lady in all aspects of her life except the 7½ hours she was at school. There, she was loved by Mrs. DeFreese. She was cared for and nurtured and made to feel safe.” He wrote a day when the school learned that the girl’s home was surrounded by SWAT officers and that she wouldn’t be able to go home, instead having to go live with an aunt in another city. “Mrs. DeFreese kept in contact with the child who had to move from aunt’s house to grandma’s home,” Pinto wrote. “The child will not remember the math lesson that day. She will not remember her reading level that day. She will remember her teacher that day…. And always. That is why Ellen DeFreese deserves this recognition.”
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Amazing and inspiring, congratulations to all teachers and thank you for your service!!
In the 2020-2021 school year, Mrs. Freeman was assigned to teach all of the Edgelea high ability program's e-learning students with just a couple of weeks notice. That was almost two dozen kids ranging from kindergarten to fourth grade. She was amazing. I can't think of anyone more deserving of every award out there.