Evanston Kindergarten Teacher Wins Golden Apple Award

EVANSTON, IL — Kindergarten teacher Kristin Mitchell thought she was headed into a Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports school assembly Friday morning, only to be surprised by family, students, colleges and members of the Golden Apple Foundation who notified her she was selected as of the prestigious awards for Chicago area teachers after a decade teaching at at Martin Luther King, Jr. Literary and Fine Arts School in Evanston.

Mitchell was named as one of 10 winners of the award out of 650 nominees. She will receive $5,000 and a tuition-free quarter to study at Northwestern University and a membership in the Golden Apple's fellowship, which helps build on the professional development of local teachers. She was presented with the award by a pair of notable parents of one of her current students, broadcast journalists Karen Jordan of WLS-TV and Christian Farr of WMAQ-TV.

According to the Golden Apple Foundation, Mitchell's teaching has focused on finding new ways to close the achievement gap in her school while kids are as young as possible. Studies show learning deficits get harder to close as students make their way through elementary school. The annual award for outstanding Illinois teachers was created by Mike and Pat Koldyke in 1985 to mentor and inspire excellence in education, especially in "schools-of-need."

Building relationships among students is key to Mitchell's work. There's a "peace table" in her classroom where students sit and resolve their differences. Activities – like solving puzzles – regularly require collaboration to improve communication and teamwork.

Mitchell's "intellectual curiosity and dedication to professional development" are clear from the way she's constantly working to improve her classroom instruction, even though adapting to new methods of teaching can be intense and difficult at times, according to the foundation.

Parents of kids in her classes report Mitchell fosters a positive and calm environment where children love to learn. She's passionate about welcoming families of all backgrounds in the school community and contributes to a team at the school devoted to understanding and improving families' experiences.

The Golden Apple's selection committee is made up of post-secondary professors, educational experts, school administrators and members of the Golden Apple fellowship. According to the foundation, they use research-based professional standards to select the most exemplary teachers after going into their classroom and interviewing collegeues, administrators, students and parents during the selection process.

More: Evanston Kindergarten Teacher Named Golden Apple Award Finalist

For this year, the award was open to teachers of pre-K through third-grade students. Next year, the foundation will be selecting an outstanding high school teacher. Nominations for the 2019 awards open up next week.

“Golden Apple is proud to recognize this year’s award recipients for their exceptional accomplishments in the classroom,” said Alicia Winckler, Golden Apple president and CEO. “Each of the recipients is uniquely talented and epitomizes the dedication, skill and drive in the teaching profession that facilitates better futures for scores of young people.”

There will be a one-hour broadcast and live stream featuring all of this year's winners on May 19 on WTTW.