Green Bay, Wis. (Feb. 9, 2008) – Partners in Education, a program of the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, is pleased to announce the Golden Apple Award Teachers of Distinction for 2008 (see list attached).
"Now in the 15th year of the program, we received more than 2,000 Golden Apple Award nominations and the quality of applications was impressive. Our community is fortunate to have great schools and outstanding educators pulling together for our kids and our future. This was endorsed when the Greater Green Bay Area recently won the 100 Best Communities for Young People Award," said Nancy Schopf, vice president of education and leadership for the Green Bay Area chamber of Commerce."Partners in Education submitted the application on behalf of the community showcasing Partners in Education programming, other community programs and the quality education programs in our schools."
The 15th Annual Golden Apple Awards program kicked off in October, when business people visited area classrooms presenting tokens of appreciation to more than 5,000 educators. The nomination period started with this kickoff and ended in November with 2,184 people submitting nominations for the Golden Apple Awards. Nominated educators were then eligible to submit applications for the 2008 Golden Apple Awards.
The selection process uses criteria based on the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards. In the first round of anonymous reading of the applications, top applications were identified as Teachers of Distinction. Each Teacher of Distinction is given two complimentary tickets to the Golden Apple Awards dinner and their applications advance to the second round of anonymous reading of applications. The top applications in the second round are contacted for personal interviews by a panel of judges from post-secondary institutions and businesses. The judging team interviews the applicants for – and bases their decisions on - defined criteria.
The process culminates with the announcement of the seven top candidates (individuals or teams) from the interview process on March 13 as the 2008 Golden Apple Award recipients. Paul Beideman, chairman and CEO of Associated Banc-Corp and honorary Golden Apple chairman, will make this announcement with Nancy Schopf. Recipients will be showcased and honored at the April 16, 2008 Golden Apple Awards dinner program with the live-televised awards program from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. on WLUK FOX 11.
The evening includes a reception, dinner and the awards program. A raffle is conducted to raise funds for our unique 5/12 Scholarship—a scholarship program to track and encourage at-risk 5th graders through to graduation. In addition, businesses from the community are recognized for their contribution to the education community through the Golden Business Partner Awards.
Corporate sponsors of the Golden Apple Awards dinner and program are: Associated Bank; Green Bay Press-Gazette; Humana, Inc.; Imperial Supplies LLC; Schneider National Foundation; Schreiber Foods, Inc.; Shopko; UnitedHealthcare; WLUK FOX 11.
Business, organizations and individuals are encouraged to attend the Golden Apple Dinner. Corporate/organization tables may be purchased for $700 and up and individual tickets may be purchased for $100 each. To purchase tickets, contact Partners in Education at 437-8704. All proceeds from the dinner fund Partners in Education programming.
Partners in Education touches the lives of thousands of K-12 students in the ten area school districts each year. Partners in Education programming helps to develop our future workforce and citizens by bringing workplace knowledge to students and educators. Programming includes scholarships, youth entrepreneur grants, youth apprenticeship training, career education programming and more. To celebrate education and to raise funds for Partners in Education programming, PIE sponsors the Golden Apple Awards Program.
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Established in 1882, the mission of the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce is to promote economic and community development. Chamber programs include Advance, Partners in Education, Leadership Green Bay, Brown County Teen Leadership, Current Young Professionals Network, Good Government Council, the International Business Development Program, and the Small Business Council.
For more information about the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce and its programs, call 437-8704 or visit www.titletown.org.
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