Wheaton-Warrenville South Teacher Receives Golden Apple Award

WHEATON, IL — Wheaton-Warrenville South chemistry teacher Phil Culcasi was recently among just 10 Illinois educators to receive the 2022 Golden Apple Award for Excellence. Culcasi who has been teaching for 24 years, was surprised with a special ceremony in early May and will receive $5,000 in cash, along with a spring sabbatical courtesy of Northwestern University.

Culcasi told Patch via email that he feels "overwhelmed, flattered, and humbled" by the recognition and surprise ceremony. He said he didn't expect to see his wife and daughters, who attend Downers Grove South, in the gym at Wheaton-Warrenville South. The trio had raided Culcasi's closet to find clothes that were in the Wheaton-Warrenville South team colors, he said.

"South has been my home for 20 years and I am glad so many people got to see what a special place it is," Culcasi told Patch. He added, "My first boss here says, 'Everyone looks great in orange.' And it's true."

More than two decades before earning the Golden Apple Award, however, Culcasi, who majored in chemical engineering, hadn't even considered becoming a teacher. He had worked jobs in research engineering and computer consulting before meeting his wife, who worked as a teacher in Boston.

"Her job looked like so much more fun than mine...and way more difficult too!" he said. Culcasi then went to night school to earn his teaching certificate.

According to Golden Apple Foundation, Culcasi's classroom has been referred to as “a masterclass in learning and instruction.”

"Under Culcasi, students are always greeted enthusiastically and emphatically at the door each day, and instruction is given through modeling, exploration, discovery, celebration and even calculated risk-taking," they wrote. "Students are guided toward discovery and are celebrated upon gleaning important insights."

The Golden Apple Award for Excellence is not the first recognition Culcasi has earned for his work in the field of education. In 2019, he received the David Hestenes Award at the annual meeting of the American Modeling Teachers Association (ATMA) for his work in science and with scientific models.

For Culcasi, though, it's the students who have made all the difference. "I have met so many amazing students here at South over the past 20 years," he told Patch.

"I think the biggest difference we have made here at South is that there are a growing number of former students going into the teaching profession. Two former students teach in our department. A former basketball player is one of our assistant basketball coaches. Another was just hired by the district to be an assistant principal at an elementary school in the district," Culcasi said.

He added, "And that's just at South. There are many more [Wheaton-Warrenville South alumni] teaching and coaching in the area. If you figure each of those teachers meet 125 new students per year, we are making huge difference in the education of kids. One of my goals over the next decade is to help young people get started in the profession. We need so many more talented and dedicated students to become teachers and I think I can help."

Culcasi, whose former teacher Jim Stankevitz, received the Golden Apple Award in 1998, hopes his own Golden Apple Award will inspire more students to pursue a career in teaching.

"Like I said at the assembly last week 'from Kindergarten to Calculus...we need you.' It's a hard job - but a great job!"

Recipients of the 2022 Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching were chosen from over 400 nominations. Click the link to nominate a teacher for a 2023 Golden Apple Award.