Thomas Paine Teacher a Finalist for State Award
Elaine Harmon Nominated for “Golden Apple” Award
Thomas Paine Elementary Kindergarten Teacher Elaine Harmon is one of only 31 teachers from central Illinois to be nominated for the prestigious “Golden Apple Central Illinois Award.”
“I feel very humbled and grateful,” says Elaine Harmon. “Humbled because someone saw something in my classroom that made them want to nominate me and grateful to be chosen.”
Thomas Paine Principal Sandra Cooper says, “Elaine Harmon is currently a kindergarten teacher at Thomas Paine. She has been here thirty years of her thirty-one year teaching career. We are very excited about her nomination for the Golden Apple award. Mrs. Harmon demonstrates daily her commitment and caring for her students and all the students at Thomas Paine. She embodies our mission of providing a learning environment which nurtures the students’ unique qualities and fosters active engagement. We are very proud of her.”
The award recognizes teachers from 18 central Illinois counties. Over 600 teachers were nominated in Champaign, Christian, Coles, De Witt, Douglas, Edgar, Ford, Livingston, Logan, Macon, McLean, Morgan, Moultrie, Peoria, Piatt, Sangamon and Tazewell counties. The nominees, including Harmon, were recognized and celebrated at a special luncheon in Bloomington on March 1.
Before the awards are handed out, a committee of teachers will observe all the nominees in their classrooms, and interview the nominees’ principal, colleagues, and parents. The Golden Apple Foundation will announce 10 winners in April. The winners will honored at a gala at the Krannert Center in Urbana on June 7. The Golden Apple winners will receive a spring sabbatical at the University of Illinois, a personal computer, $3,000, and membership in the Golden Apple of Central Illinois Academy of Educators.
According to its website, Golden Apple Central Illinois is a new program of the Golden Apple Foundation that “promote(s) excellent teaching and great educators and provide(s) programs to improve schools across Central Illinois.” For more information about Golden Apple Central Illinois and the Golden Apple Awards, please see www.goldenapplecentralillinois.org.