ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — The Golden Apple Foundation has announced a list of 6th – 12th grade teachers in Winnebago and Boone counties who have been nominated for the 2024 Golden Apple Teacher Awards.
More than 1,400 nominations for 593 teachers were received for those who “exemplify excellence in the classroom.”
A Nominee Reception will be held to honor all nominees at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 14, at Rockford University, 5050 E. State St., Rockford. District superintendents and building principals will join the Golden Apple Foundation in congratulating the nominees.
The nomination is the first stage of a search for teachers who represent excellence in primary school teaching in Winnebago and Boone counties. The next step is for teachers to respond to their nominations with self-reflective essays and letters of recommendation. Nominees must have five years of teaching experience and be teaching full time in a 6th – 12th grade classroom. A selection committee will complete a review of the teachers’ professional portfolios and choose 20 teachers to continue in the process of classroom observations and interviews, which are conducted by community volunteers.
Five teachers will be selected to receive the Golden Apple Award and will be honored at the Excellence in Education Banquet on April 26, 2024, at the Tebala Event Center. Each of the Golden Apple Teachers will receive a cash award, a professional development stipend and a Rockford University Scholarship. They will then be inducted into the Golden Apple Teacher Academy.
Auburn High School
Amanda Becker
Naomi Beckley
Julie Clark
Jonathan Gates
Robert Hammer
James Hays
Kimberly Johnson
Kevin Knoll
Jonathan Logemann
Joselyn Ludtke
Marissa Martinez
Christopher McMullen
Amanda Picard
Paul Pickerl
John Rauh
Marianna Ruggerio
Brandy Salivar
Miranda Schieve
Jennifer Shriver
William Stockton
Ana Weickert
Elizabeth Wood
Barbour Two-Way Language Immersion
Angelica Cobos
Lesly Herrera
Cesar Estrada
Belvidere Central Middle
Don Ahlberg
Luisa Cruz
Robert Fleischmann
Kevin Huetson
Blair Johnson
Paige Kazy-Garey
Phil Keithley
Valerie Koehne
Heather Lane
Tricia Proffitt
Ricardo Quinonez
Carrie Scarbrough
Cassie Vermillion
Brenna Watts
Sarah Wolf
Lovina Youngman
Katie Zarembski
Belvidere High School
Jason Balsley
Caleb Blatchford
Brittany Bourgord
Blair Colquitt
Jason Costabile
John Deery
Tyler Erwin
Jessica Full
Jon Hannel
Blaise Humphry
Brian Koehne
Mark Miller
Chloe Morelock
Bryan Neal
Sarah Nordstrom
Sam Peters
Michael Ries
Jaclyn Riggins
Konrad Salamon
Ariana Sanders
Effie Schaver
David Sennerud
Maurice Smith
Dominick Tabor
Michael Tanner
Stuart Teso-Warner
Jackie Tumminello
Rob Wesselhoff
Michael Yates
Matthew Zabel
Belvidere North High School
Robert Arata
Daniel Avila
Michaela Binz
Corinne Boatman
Katherine Bove
Leann Burmeister-Juliano
Kelly Burns
Justin Carner
Emily Chambers
Nolan Cusimano
Lori DeWall
Michelle Doucet
Caleb Ferry
Erin Foster
Dannielle Galllagly
Laura Geddes
Nichola Geraci
Thomas Geraci
Carlos Gomez
Jason Hain
Keith Kleckler
Amy Klein
Karin Krider
Nicole Kroepel
Teresa Kruger
Debra Lasater
K’Lynn Lawver-Cobb
Sean McGill
Robert McGuire
Patricia McHugh
Keith Meyers
Lynn O’Donnell
Frank Oldani
Jaclyn Olejniczak
Aaron Piper
Martha Rathbun
Paola Rodriguez
Meghan Rossato
Kelsey Schultz
Stacey Slintak
Samantha Suarez
Wendy Taylor
Janet Timmer
Chris Weber
Corynne Wesselhoff
Steven Wolfgram
Kyle Wright
David Zimmermann
Belvidere South Middle
Katie Appelhans
Melanie Arvidson
Anna Billesbach
Andrea Bould
Nicole Bradford
Kim Brahmstedt
Michelle Dodeler
Jody Farris
Jeremy Frew
Natasha Gadomski
Lexie Gruber
Brian Hayes
Rachel Hockemeyer
Aaron Holloway
LaRonda Johnson
Tim Judd
Christina Kalk
Adam Lee
Consuelo Loredo
Yuri Moctezuma
Sheila Morrall
Rebecca Perry **
Meaghan Rose
Aly Shillingburg
Brooke Stark
Sarah Streed
Andrew Wallace
Rebecca Wesselhoff
Boylan Catholic High School
Michael Grady
Jennifer Kazmerski
Elizabeth Okite
Michael Osborne
Lynn Rafferty
Benjamin Schooler
Christian Life Schools
Brian Belh
Duke Ducett
Andrew Kimball
Darrell Dunlap
Ariane Easton
Megan Kniffen
Gabriel Reyes
Sonny Savitski
Durand Elementary
Bethany Nimtz
Emily Backeberg
Mike Bartelt
Kendra Cox
Matthew Heid
Adam Pusateri
Stacy Ross
William Shepard
Mark Sullivan
Danielle Thorpe
Durand Junior High
Taniya Bland
Dermot Dolan
Michelle Washington
East High School
Ashley Kolberg
Melissa Lawson
Kathryn McCullough
Donna Schutt
Eisenhower Middle School
Maureen Barndt
Christina Dover
Nicole Foster
Julie Hoyer
Deborah Krueger
Asiya Laskonis
Mark Mase
Monica Miranda
Pilar Pena
Jenifer Rizzio
Flinn Middle School
Samar Al Zoubi
Amanda Andrus
Aubrey Barnett
Jacob Bergeron
Brittany Berry
Heather Cardott
Jasmin Chavez
Jeffery Emmole
Megan Flores
Joseph Free
Kevin Goad
Emilie Godlewski
Jimmy Goodman
Michelle Griesman
Katy Griffin
Mark Hoffman
Sarah Ingham
Meredith Kerr-Brown
Christina Koblosh
Kathryn Kotz
Brooke Mueller
Craig Murphy
Tara Olson
Kelli Purvis
Jessica Roman
Joanna Tekampe
William Wengelewski
Stacy Wilhite
Cara Wolfe
Galapagos Charter School
Molly Kettelhut
Guilford High School
Mark Anderson
Patrick Appino
Bethany Austin
Amy Avery
Joseph Avery
Heather Babcock-Kuligowski
Deanna Ballard
Jeffrey Barabasz
Daniel Bingley
Michael Cermak
Jennifer Chycota
Craig Corcoran
Erik Czerwin
Sanika Dev
Jordan Doering
Dane Johnson
Casey Kilduff
Nathan Kirschmann
Jacqueline Kliebe
Erin Krieg
Courtney Kubacki
Teadora Lojanica
David Lynch
Jessica Ries
Peter Riportella
Shannan Rockwood-Callahan
Annemarie Smith
Jeanie Sullivan
Bryce Thomas
Melissa Wedwick
Mary Westin
David Woosley
Chris Yerk
Harlem High School
Jerome Foss
Kim Kozel
Erin Abruzzo
Carolyn Adams
Natalie Bader
Chad Barger
Michael Bodnar
Amy Chadwick
Jeff Cismesia
Jared Day
Angelica Gaj
Kara Heyboer
Staci Hubley-Taylor
Nikole Johnsen
Cyndy Johnson
Diane Kordich
Doug Livingston
Nikita Lopez
Kelsey Lueshen
Alaina Mach
Bethany Meyer
Kyra Newnam
Chris Noble
Tim Perian
Joselyn Rosas
Christy Saunders
Ryan Schulz
Stacey Shahamat
Scott Sholl
Jordan Smith
Nicholas Stange
Jennifer Stark
Marcie Steuer
Brad Sweet
Jeremy Toledo
Erin Watson
Harlem Middle School
Beth Bartscher
Kelly Basque
Brook Bates
Tiffany Bautch
Nikole Behling
Lisa Boelkes
Lisa Brockway
Brittany Carr
Sarina Cushing
Ramona Drozek
Dan Hallstrom
Michaelle Jaeger
Kaitlyn Johnson
Shawn Johnson
Cassie Loyd
Valerie Mallon
Ashley Milnes **
Misty Murphy
Lynnette Nyren
Reed Ortland
Chelsea Pruitt
Elizabeth Smith
Shawna Sterling
Amy Tanascu
Betsy Young
Flori Zeqiri
Holy Family Catholic School
Danielle Buelow
Kate Giovingo
Mary Haas
Brooke Harp
Lauren Ladley*
John Sabaka
Hononegah Community HS
Melissa Angeles
Kelley Beard
Rebecca Brauns
Ann Chapetta
Amy Dalke
Elizabeth Eiss
William Elliot
Lassen Fleege
Nic Haab
Alex Hartz
Amanda Harvey
Susan Hays
Bryan Jenkins
Alex Krahl
Jeremiah Kramper
Kaylee Libby
Josh Martin
Amanda McCoy
Maggie Moore
Kristy Neumer
Heather Plourde
Rebecca Robinson
Jennifer Simpson
Jessica Starr
Arra Van Galder
Michael Weeden
Justin Wieman
Immanuel Lutheran School
Cindy Gnewuch
Jefferson High School
Hillary Anderzon
David Bardwell
Patrick Cleaver
Amanda Ellis
Lynn Graczyk **
Johnathan Kaifesh
Lynn Stockton
Alexander West
Keith Country Day School
Renee Allen
Kristin Burns
David Bye
Sherrilyn Martin
Rob Nunez
Erin Philpott
Linda Smith
Kennedy Middle School
Michael Davis
Catherine DeFrancesca
Amanda Enser
Holly Hilden
Dina Howard
Melissa Kahly
Christopher Koch
Jennifer Onsgard
Rachel Perez
Benjamin Riffle
Kristine Robertson
Dan Schroeder
Jarod Weir
Lincoln Middle School
Katelyn Backs
Amy Gonzalez
Jaimie Grimm
Melanie Habben
Nicholas Hill
Natalie Hinz
Hayley Hoff
Kerry Huffman
Trevor Johnsen
Sarah Kazluski
Chris Klarner
Leanna Kromer
William McLaughlin
Heather Nicholls
Jessica Parker
Megan Perry
Antonio Ramirez III
Jill Renteria
Amanda Richardson
Scott Schemel
Veronica Seehawer
Abby Sprayberry
Alicia Valdivia
Allison White
Mary Whitehouse
Fred Zuroske
Loves Park Elementary
Scott Mellentine
Machesney Elementary
Ingrid Hyde
Kelli Kiger
Kim Lewis
Caitlin MacRoy
Maria Montessori at Marsh
Stacey Szczepaniak
Julie Gibbs
Sara Hanson
Kristin Keller
Arthur Kimball
Sarah Olson
Amy Orvis **
Montessori Private Academy
Noah Elrod
North Boone High School
Nick Augustine
Melissa Barry
Shawn Brady
Beth Doetch
Troy Doetch
Jason Geiger
Lilly Halom
Troy James
Cindy Kastning
Nicholas Pierson
Kathleen Podraza
Verna Rentsch
David Siggelkov
Sean Smart
Kyle Solomon
Stephanie Squires
Diana Vlase
Robert Wessel
North Boone Middle School
Taylor Anderson
Kassandra Chambers
Katharine Doering
Randal Greenfield
Katelyn Katz
Carol North
Lloyd Roberts
Jodie Rogers
Sandra Swenson
Karise Tinberg
Robert Ullrich
Marcy Wilson
Jillian Zelek
North Boone Upper Elem.
Elaine Ahrens
Matt Brinkmeier
Alexis Booth
Brenda Kamholz
Johnny Lammersfeld
Kelly Mroz-Swanson
Kellie Townsend
Olson Park Elementary
Kristin Dolphin
Debbie Fountain
Pecatonica High School
Lexi Hilliker
Michelle Johnson
Jennifer Krantz
Sabrina Massa
Neal Shippy
Pecatonica Middle School
Tim Bukoski
Jennifer Dusing
Donna Harvey
Chelsea Hayes
Jessica Houghton
Traci Lutzow
Caroline Martin
Taylor Merrick
Brianna Meyer
Laura Vanatta
Marissa Viel
Ralston Elementary School
Taylor Gilliam
Allison Mangseth
Rockford Environmental Science Academy (RESA)
Christina Barte
Heidi Butz
Sarah Byrnes
Virginia Calgaro
Rebeccah Coppernoll
Niko Derain
Jay DiBenedetto
Roxana Flores De Jimenez
Andres Holm
Kevin Llanos
Martin Lowenthal
Hannah McCullough
Todd Moran
Julie Peterson
Kevin Rundle
Thomas Rutherford
Kymberley Shimmins
Stephanie Valderrama
Samantha Whitmer
Rock Cut Elementary School
Mireya Lara
Rockford Christian
Sally Bradley
Jennifer Downey
Jacob Gragg
Terry Gulley
Don Hoff
Mike Manke
Jonathon Molchin
Randy Moore
Katie Volk
Stephanie Weeden
Logan Wooden
Rockford Iqra School
Fadwa Abufanas
Rockford Lutheran HS
Nick Born
Kelly Champion
Michael Fanuke
Lori Hansen
Karen Jensen
Douglas Martin
Roosevelt Community Education Center
Barry Champion
Alicia Malcomson
Rebecca Roth
Kristy Topalovich
Samantha Wright
Roscoe Middle School
Colleen Alms
Kim Andreas
Steven Bergler
Diana Boelte
Drake Bolin
Mychael Drews
Tricia DuPre
Dana Gugliuzza
Louis Gugliuzza
Tracy Hunter
Tracy Jasinski
Molly Lengjak
Tyler Lovegren
Chad McLarty
Melissa Middleton
Megan Nausner
Lily Picot
Chris Walsh
Brooke Zammuto
Shirland School
Rebecca Clinite
Hannah Pals
Mark Snyder
South Beloit High School
Kala Niedermeier
Steven Picavet
Matt Stucky
South Beloit Junior High
Annie Johnson
Samantha Redieske
St. Rita Catholic School
Mary Gorsline
Stephen Mack Middle
Jenna Arends
Leah Carter
Bryan Collins
Beth DeVries
Carol Flohr
Dalton Holcomb
Amy Hommema
Diana Kelly
Jessica Krause
Penny Lee
Luke McMillan
Ashley Mumma
Sally Southworth
Olivia Spera
Cori Taylor
Summit Academy
Tracy Conerton
Maria Curcuru
Abigail Shelton
Thurgood Marshall Middle
Michelle Albersett
Julia Anderson
Joshua Austin
Kimberly Ball
Susan Brauns
Christine Campbell
Kenneth Fosse
Ray Garza
Carrie Goings
Erin Harner
Chelsea Johnson
Mat Kurtz
Jillian Myers
Gary Peterson
Carrie Rollins
Stacy Wallace
West Middle School
Michael Apperson
Brian Hildreth
Kim McLaughlin
Matthew Stacionis
Willowbrook Middle School
Sara Betti
Doug Elfstrom
Tom Kalhagen
Michael Rhines
Windsor Elementary School
Kaitlyn Schrader
Winnebago High School
Brian Benning
Sheila Erickson
Jennifer Fuller
Rosa Lampe
Winnebago Middle School
Megan Bremer
Joe Erb
Kendra Getschel
Cody McDonald
Tom Stahl
*deceased
** Golden Apple Teacher Academy members
Nominated teachers at unknown schools or Retired
Phillip Baker
Mrs. Dimke
William Elliot
Les Haygood
Brad Kolar
Jason Pedersen
Victoria Peterson
Terri Rossi (R)
Mr. Rudi
James Sartino
Mr. Schaffer
Bradley Stott (R)
Aliceya Tartaglia
Mrs. Vodick
Sarah Werhane
Peter Williams
