Golden Apple “Teachers of Distinction” Recognizes TBE Teachers

The Golden Apple Teacher Recognition Program highlights teachers’ exceptional practices and effectiveness in Collier County Public Schools. The program gives the community the opportunity to see some of the amazing things that go on inside the classroom, in addition to giving teachers the ability to share their practices beyond their classrooms. The Champions for Learning program will select both a teacher and practice to highlight from each Collier County Public School.

A Teacher of Distinction is defined as a teacher who is “willing to share his/her practice with the community and other educators, willing to participate in peer learning and networking, and has a practice that has resulted in demonstrable student results.” A Best Practice in the program is a “definable educational classroom activity, policy or program which has resulted in positive changes in student behaviors, attitudes and/or academic achievement.”

Two of Tommie Barfield Elementary School’s valued fourth grade teachers, Emily Costello and Sheli Lowrie were selected to represent Tommie Barfield as the Golden Apple Program’s 2022-23 Teachers of Distinction. Mrs. Lowrie and Mrs. Costello co-teach as a team and will be considered as “one unit.” Therefore, award monies will be evenly split and the co-teachers will be each other’s “plus one” for the Golden Apple Celebration of Teachers Dinner. 

The Golden Apple Selection Committee teams, K through fifth grade and sixth through twelfth grade, gathers information on both teachers and their practices by visiting schools and observing the classrooms, holding presentation nights for teachers and administrators to learn more and ask questions regarding their impact on students learning and schools and a submission form where teachers describe their best practices and the significance. The Selection Committees will then select six recipients for the Golden Apple.

On November 1st, each school’s Teacher of Distinction forms were due. Forms included a teacher’s information, their best practice, their class schedule, and the formal acknowledgement of their eligibility for becoming a Teacher of Distinction. 

In order to be eligible, a teacher must be a full-time Florida Certified Teacher or a CCPS Career and Technical Education Certified Teacher, teach full-time with a minimum of two years in CCPS, has implemented the Best Practice for at least a year and show evidence of its positive impact on student learning, meet the standards of the “Code of Ethics and the Principles of Professional Conduct of the Education Profession in Florida”, give permission for a background check, and not be a previous Golden Apple Recipient or recognized as a Teacher of Distinction in the past two years. 

The 2022-23 Teachers of Distinction were to receive county-wide recognition within their school on Thursday, November 10th. Due to the tropical storm, the announcement was postponed and the Teachers of Distinction will be announced to the public on November 15th. Teachers will also receive their information packet at an informational session on November 15th.

After receiving recognition a Teacher of Distinction must prepare for the Golden Apple Selection Process by attending a virtual information session on the different phases of the process. Following the informational session on November 14th, there will be a Celebration Reception for all Teachers of Distinction on November 15th where they will receive headshots.

All Teachers of Distinction will present their best practices to the Golden Apple Selection committee which will be followed by a Q&A. These presentations will help the committee gain a better understanding of the impact of a best practice and what to expect when visiting classrooms later in the Site Visit phase of the selection process from January-March. Every visit to the classrooms of each Teacher of Distinction will last for 30 minutes and each teacher will have a minimum of two visits.

There will be a $250 cash award to each Teacher of Distinction and an additional $500 cash award to each Golden Apple Recipient, from the Mary Ingram Fund of the Columbus Foundation. Furthermore, a $5,000 grant will be awarded to each of the six Golden Apple Recipients from Suncoast Credit Union to be utilized by the end of the following school year. The grant will support the growth and sharing of best practices.

To conclude the 2022-2023 Golden Apple Recognition Program, in May of 2023, Champions for Learning will be having their 33rd Annual Golden Apple Celebration of Teachers where all Golden Apple recipients and Teachers of Distinction will be formally recognized for their outstanding contributions to student academics and education. The best practices will be included in a booklet provided to the attendees of the event.