Golden Apple Surprises Bronzeville Classical School Teacher Reginald Spears with Prestigious Award for Excellence in Teaching
CHICAGO (May 13, 2021) - Golden Apple, the leading Illinois nonprofit committed to preparing, honoring and supporting great educators who advance educational opportunities for students, today surprised Reginald Spears, a kindergarten through third grade teacher at Bronzeville Classical School in Chicago, with the prestigious Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching. Spears is one of 10 teacher award recipients in Illinois.
Following a highly competitive process, the 2021 teaching award recipients were selected from a record-setting 708 nominations of Pre-K-3rd grade teachers.
“These outstanding teachers transform the lives of students, schools, and communities over the course of their careers. Their resilience and perseverance in this past year–and their career–-has been nothing short of amazing,” said Golden Apple President Alan Mather. “Our 2021 award recipients will now join us in our mission to impact the lives of even more students by supporting the next generation of highly effective teachers through 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 Reginald Spears
Spears teaches music to a diverse and eclectic student population of K-8th graders. He showcases the heritage of his students by selecting culturally responsive music for instruction. He also empowers his students with choices for their weekly musical performance assessment, which has been curated to reflect the specific topic or technique that they have been learning throughout the week. Learning to teach music remotely offered new challenges to Spears, who created an instrument loan program for his third-grade students to learn techniques remotely, from home. In addition, as the Calm Classroom lead at his school, he’s found that engaging in the techniques for three minutes at the beginning of each class helps his students, and him, relax and become focused for music class. He rolled the Calm Classroom techniques out to the school’s staff meetings as well as their Parent Advisory Board, with students, staff and parents reporting more calmness and focus.
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 2022 Golden Apple Awards for Excellence in Teaching & Leadership is open. All are invited to nominate exceptional high school 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 Golden Apple
Golden Apple’s mission is to inspire, develop and support teacher and school leader excellence in Illinois, 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. Our vision is an Illinois 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 throughout Illinois. Visit http://www.goldenapple.org for more information.
Media contact:
Kellie Kennedy
312-933-4903
kelliek@theharbingergroup.com