Three Alumni Earn Golden Apple Distinction
Three School of Education and Social Policy alumni were named finalists for the 2019 Golden Apple Awards for Excellence in Teaching, which recognize some of the most talented educators in the state.
High school teachers Brian Hurley (MS10), Corey Winchester (BS10) and Sara Blair Winter-Rosenberg (MS12), are among the 32 finalists selected from 550 nominations. All three were hired directly out of the School’s teaching programs.
A fourth finalist, Erin Unander, a math teacher and department chair at Lakeview High School in Chicago, recently served as a Student Teaching Mentor for a Northwestern student.
Golden Apple Award winners receive a spring sabbatical at Northwestern University and a $5,000 cash award. They also become Fellows of the Golden Apple Academy of Educators, a community that supports current and future teachers and deepens student learning.
"Northwestern and Golden Apple are dedicated to developing teachers who will transform their student’s lives,” said Timothy Dohrer, director of the Master of Science in Education program at SESP. “We are proud to host these master teachers on the next step in their professional journeys in education.”
Hurley, who teaches science and serves as a STEM coach at Reavis High School in Burbank, is an Operation Iraqi Freedom war veteran and also worked as a systems analyst for Boeing. He was a Fulbright Teacher for Global Classrooms Fellow, where he was able to further pursue ways to bring global awareness to science.
Winchester teaches history and social science teacher at Evanston Township High School. In December 2018, Winchester was selected as one of 20 Illinois teachers named teaching policy fellows with Teach Plus, a national nonprofit designed to engage teachers to become leaders in transforming the system to best serve students of color. He’ll be speaking at TEDX Northwestern on April 27 at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Winter-Rosenberg, an Evanston native, teaches Spanish for heritage learners at Mundelein High School where she also developed a Spanish-language independent reading program, sponsors Diversity Club and attends to Latino parents through Universidad de Padres. Winter Rosenberg taught middle school math, ballet and modern dance in the Bronx for two years with the New York City Teaching Fellows program.
This year, Golden Apple eligibility included the entire state of Illinois for the first time in the program’s 30-year history. Teachers are honored for having a significant, positive impact on their students’ growth and learning and are nominated by peers, students, parents, and community members.
All finalists will be honored Feb. 23 at the Tinley Park Convention Center. The winners will be notified in the spring with surprise visits at their schools. All recipients will be featured on an hourlong public television broadcast recorded and broadcast live May 18 and taped on future dates.
SESP Golden Apple Winners:
2018: Gwen Faulkner (MS11)
2014: Michael Novak
2013: Scott Galson (MS06)
2012: Zackary Ruelas (MS10)
2011: Ron Hale
2010: Rosalind Kline-Thomas (MS11)
2007: John O'Connor