Stagg English Teacher Finalist For Golden Apple Award

PALOS HILLS, IL — Amos Alonzo Stagg High School teacher Lisa Thyer, who teaches grades 11-12 English, is one of 30 finalists in the state for the Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching. The Golden Apple elevates the teaching and school leadership professions through recognition of master teachers and school leaders.

Before her class embarks on exploring American literature in her class, Thyer asks her students, “what does it mean to be an American?”

Through a process of comparing and contrasting different literary works from various historical time periods and movements, students are able to better identify core values of American culture that were emphasized at different times. In addition to her in-classroom work, Thyer prides herself on connecting with students, and found it challenging to teach remotely during the height of the pandemic. Fortunately, her teacher association and building and district committee positions allowed her to voice her concerns about how remote instruction styles needed updating in order to allow instructors to continue to effectively teach. By sharing her students’ struggles with colleagues and fellow administrators, Thyer was able to implement changes to online learning policies that were hampering classroom success.

It's no surprise, then, that colleagues describe Thyer as an “innovator” at Stagg High School. From co-creating the Voice of Witness course (based on a partnership with the nationally award-winning human rights nonprofit Voice of Witness program) to helping students publish their own work in such places as the Museum of Empathy, Thyer regularly goes above and beyond the call of duty to experiment, innovate and ensure she is advocating for her students in ways that matter.