On February 18, students in five Collier County classrooms received bushels of Golden Delicious apples as their teachers were surprised with Golden Apple awards, which highlight best practices in teaching. Representatives from Suncoast Credit Union Foundation, presenting sponsor of the Golden Apple Teacher Recognition Program, were joined by Champions For Learning board members, sponsors, and volunteers to present the awards to the teachers in their classrooms.
Congratulations to the following 2015-16 Golden Apple recipients.
- Nancy Garousi, Tommie Barfield Elementary
- Jenny Godley, Naples High School
- Eric Mazurkewitz, Immokalee High School
- McKenzie Morton, Naples High School
- Bruce Peters, Lorenzo Walker Technical College
Click here for the full list of teachers being honored.
The community will honor and thank the Golden Apple Recipients, Teachers of Distinction, and Collier County Public Schools’ Teachers of the Year at the Golden Apple Celebration of Teachers Dinner on April 1, 2016. The event is presented by Suncoast Credit Union Foundation and is generously hosted by the Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club. Additional support is provided by Adams Food, Inc./McDonald’s, Arthrex, CenturyLink, Conditioned Air, the Mary Ingram Fund of the Columbus Foundation, Moorings Park, Naples Daily News,and NBC-2.
For information on attending and/or event sponsorships, click here.
The 2015-16 Golden Apple recipients will each receive a $5,000 grant from the Suncoast Credit Union Foundation to allow the building of best practices. All Teachers of Distinction receive a $500 award, and the Golden Apple recipients receive an additional $500 award thanks to the Mary Ingram Fund of the Columbus Foundation.
“As a community, we have to place value on learning, and we must support it actively,” said Cindy Helton, Executive Director, Suncoast Credit Union Foundation. “One way to do that is to create opportunities for educators to share best practices and grow professionally. It’s pretty simple, the stronger we make our teachers, the stronger their students will be.”
The Suncoast Credit Union Foundation is funded through the credit union members’ use of their debit and credit cards. For every transaction, Suncoast donates two cents to its foundation to invest in the education, health and emotional well-being of children.
The event hashtag will be #goldenapplecollier. To see photos from the Golden Apple deliveries please visit Naples Daily News, NBC-2, and visit our Facebook .
Families, students, and the entire community are invited to join in the celebration by tuning in to NBC-2 for the Golden Apple television program highlighting the great work of teachers in Collier County classrooms. The program will air on April 1 on NBC-2 at 8:00pm, and rebroadcast multiple times after April 2 on The Education Channel.