Thirty outstanding teachers from The School District of Lee County were surprised in their classrooms Friday as the Foundation for Lee County Public Schools announced the Golden Apple Finalists for 2010. The Golden Apple Teacher Recognition Program works to bring awareness to the teaching profession in Lee County. Business and community leaders, school administrators, the Golden Apple Selection Committee and The Foundation for Lee County Public Schools’ staff gathered together and visited the school of each Finalist to make the announcements.
When asked what it means for him, the school, and the Finalist to have the announcements made in the classroom by the Foundation and their business partners, Jeff Spiro, Principal of Lehigh Senior High said, “our teachers are relentless in their pursuit of excellence in teaching and learning. The Lehigh Senior High School administration, faculty, students and parents are so proud of our teachers and grateful that our community has taken the time from their businesses to support and recognize the great impact educators have on the community. The teachers receiving the Golden Apple Finalist recognition are a small example of the incredible educators that teach our children daily.” Lehigh Senior High School is represented by three Golden Apple Finalists.
The selection of the Golden Apple Finalists is an arduous task. Over 2,200 nominations were submitted by students, parents and the community. From these submissions, teachers were given the opportunity to apply for the Golden Apple Award. An independent body, the Golden Apple Selection Committee, selected the Finalists from a larger group 270 applicants. They spent the past seven weeks reading and ranking all of the applications, narrowing the field to thirty teachers. Through the upcoming months, these teachers will be observed in their classrooms and interviewed by the Selection Committee as part of the ongoing selection process. The Selection Committee looks for attributes that are characteristic of outstanding professionals such as control of their work environment and elements that identify outstanding performance in the classroom, demonstrating imagination, commitment, communication skills and personal concern for the needs of students. The Selection Committee is made up of 12 Lee County business and community leaders.
This year’s six Golden Apple recipients will be announced in March through the traditional surprise presentation in their classroom. They will be honored at the 2010 Golden Apple Dinner on Friday, April 16 at Harborside Event Center. The program will be broadcast live on local television channel 99 from 8:00 to 9:00 pm with no commercial breaks and rebroadcast the following week on WINK-TV. In addition to recognition at the dinner, each recipient will receive a $3,000 cash award, the prestigious “golden apple” a golden apple lapel pin and membership into the Academy of Teachers. The schools of the six Golden Apple teachers will each receive a $500 grant to enrich and enhance curriculum.
All 30 finalists are invited to the televised Golden Apple Dinner and will be recognized on stage. They will be presented with a $250 Classroom Grant to create unique hands on projects to enhance student learning. The next level -- 70 Teachers of Distinction -- will also be invited to the Dinner. Although not Finalists, they ranked high in the application process and will continue to be recognized through upcoming Golden Apple activities. These top 100 educators have the opportunity to attend a professional development teacher training, Collegium for the Advancement of Education, which focuses on best practices and student achievement. This model of training was adopted by Tropic Isles Elementary, the only school in the state of Florida to receive the Governor’s Sterling Award for Excellence in 2009.

List of Finalists and their schools

F NAME L NAME SCHOOL

Jennifer Anderson Cape Elementary

Sarah Bearman Skyline Elementary

Joanne Carter Sunshine Elementary

Kristin Cohen Allen Park Elementary

Jennifer Einstein Caloosa Elementary

Denise Fenicle N Fort Myers Acad for the Arts

Gwen Gregg North Fort Myers High

Sara Gulnac Lehigh Senior High

Terry Huge Lehigh Senior High

Susan IIves Lexington Middle

Morgan Kirk Fort Myers High

Natalie Lafferty Lehigh Senior High

Nancy Loughlin Island Coast High

Kathryn McKinnon Trafalgar Middle

Michelle Mell Veterans Park Acad for Arts

Rebecca Mendes Gateway Elementary

Alicia Miller Cape Coral High

Nancy Monyhan Riverdale High

Lisa Pockrus Three Oaks Elementary

Tonya Reasoner Pinewoods Elementary

Carie Rewis Veterans Park Acad for Arts

Amy Shaw J Colin English Elementary

Jeannine Sparkes Cypress Lake Middle

Lois Swickheimer Rayma C Page Elementary

Sheryl Terepka Challenger Middle

Sidonia Todd Orange River Elementary

Lisa Vazquez Mariner High

Renee Wagner-Pachiva Allen Park Elementary

Melissa Wincel Trafalgar Elementary

Cindy Yelvington Veterans Park Acad for Arts