SKOKIE, IL — A teacher in Skokie Public School District 73.5 was named a finalist for the 2021 Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Margaret Burke, who teaches first grade at John Middleton Elementary School, was selected last month among 32 finalists out of more than 700 nominations from 67 counties in Illinois. Parents of her students described her as a “complete and total gift,” according to the Golden Apple Foundation.
This year, the prestigious award for educators is to be given to teachers at the pre-kindergarten to third grade level. Last year, the award went to those who teach fourth through eighth grade, and next year it will rotate back to the high school level.
When the outbreak of coronavirus in Illinois led to the shutdown of in-person instruction, Burke sought to connect with her students remotely. She began making recordings of her reading books aloud and shared them with her class of about 20 students over the internet.
“I needed that sense of normalcy and connection, so I could only imagine what they needed. So that was one way I tried to fill that gap,” Burke told Patch. “I was missing them a lot. I had some parents who said they would sit down as a family and listen every night after dinner, even with their older students or what have you. There were other parents who said they would listen to it even if their kids weren’t home.”
Students returned to Burke’s classroom last week for the first time in almost a year this month, as District 73.5 began offering students some in-person instruction through its hybrid learning plan. Burke said her students exceeded her expectations for handling e-learning.
“I was very worried when this all began because they’re so young, and they benefit so much from social interactions, especially when they’re learning,” she said. “I’ve been so impressed with their adaptability. When this all started, if you had asked me if a 6-year-old can sit on Zoom for 45 minutes for a math lesson I would have thought there’s no way. But they do it every day, and they’re engaged.”
Burke expressed gratitude for the support and professional development provided by the approximately 1,100-student north suburban school district, which is made up of an elementary school, a middle school and a pre-kindergarten and kindergarten campus.
“In the spring, it was a little bit of survival mode, trying to figure out the best we could, and having that summer break to really delve into what’s available, and how we can best use what we have, really helped and allowed us to create concrete schedules for our students and routines and deliver instruction and provide feedback in as close to a way as we were used to as we could,” Burke said.
“It’s still not the same. It’s still very hard not to be all together in one space, but I have been so impressed with the resiliency of my coworkers, and the parents, and the students, and we’ve all done what we could to make the most of it,” she added. “And I’m so much more tech savvy than I was one year ago. I feel like I could do anything now as far as technology goes.”
The Golden Apple Awards started in 1986 in the Chicago area and have since expanded to include the entire state. Winners are awarded a one-semester free sabbatical at Northwestern University and a $5,000 cash award. They also become fellows of the Golden Apple Academy of Educators, who help mentor and train the next generation of teachers to help address the teacher shortage in Illinois, according to the nonprofit.
Alan Mather, Golden Apple Foundation president, said the past year has elevated the vital role of teachers in the lives of families and communities.
“The resilience teachers have demonstrated while navigating teaching during the global pandemic and through a time of racial awakening, while providing the high-quality education and social-emotional support students need, has been tremendously impactful,” Mather said in a statement announcing the 32 finalists. “We are honored to recognize the extraordinary work of these finalists.”
Burke is an Evanston native with a dozen years of classroom experience under her belt. Before joining the staff at Middleton, she taught through Teach for America at East Chicago Lighthouse Charter School in East Chicago, Indiana.
She then joined the staff of Byrne Experimental School in Chicago’s Garfield Ridge neighborhood and the Lloyd Bond campus of Chicago International Charter School in the Golden Gate neighborhood of Chicago.
While teaching in Northwest Indiana, Burke helped her students channel their interest in advocating for the environment into writing letters to the president and starting a school recycling initiative. She said the experience has informed the way she has taught ever since.
“It has really driven me to take what the students are interested in, take what they believe in, and feel are important in our world and run with it,” she said. “So that’s what we work on in our classroom now, and it’s something that I now weave throughout our year.”
