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Carmel High School teacher named Golden Apple finalist
Updated: March 18, 2013 9:42PM
MUNDELEIN — Carmel Catholic High School instructor Michelle Titteron is among the 32 finalists for the 2013 Golden Apple Awards for Excellence in Teaching.
Titteron teaches micro and macro economics at the Mundelein school, as well as honors chemistry and international business.
The finalists, selected from a pool of 510 nominations and 215 applicants, represent high school teachers throughout the Chicago metropolitan area.
Since 1986, Golden Apple has recognized outstanding teachers throughout Illinois each year. Created by founders Mike and Pat Koldyke, The Golden Apple Awards for Excellence in Teaching recognize and honor outstanding teachers for their role in building a stronger, better-educated society.
The 32 finalists will participate in a final round of review and observations prior to the announcement of the 10 recipients in May.
Each Golden Apple Award recipient receives a tuition-free, spring quarter sabbatical to study at Northwestern University in Evanston. Each recipient also receives a $3,000 cash award. In addition, recipients become Fellows of the Golden Apple Academy of Educators, which Golden Apple officials said gives them a stronger voice and a larger stage to address improving the education experience of children.
Golden Apple’s selection committee is comprised of prominent retired teachers, college and university professors, administrators and former Golden Apple Award recipients. Committee members implement industry and research-based professional standards in their selection process.
The goal is to identify those teachers who exemplify the highest standards and practices of the teaching profession. As part of the process, the finalists like Titteron are observed in their classrooms and the selection committee conducts interviews with the teachers’ colleagues, supervisors, students and parents.
Nominations of fourth- through eighth-grade teachers for the 2014 Golden Apple Awards for Excellence in Teaching will open on May 1 on the Golden Apple website, www.goldenapple.org. The nominations can be made by anyone, but teachers may not nominate themselves. Teachers who are eligible for nomination must be full-time classroom teachers at public or non-public schools within Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake or Will counties, and committed to continue teaching in Illinois for two subsequent years after the sabbatical.
The Golden Apple Awards concentrate on a specific group of grade levels each year including prekindergarten-3, 4-8 and 9-12.
