The Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois program is through
the Golden Apple Foundation located in Chicago. It started in 1989 to increase
caring teachers throughout the state in schools of need. It is a scholarship
program for college students in Illinois who want to teach in the state. Every
scholar attends one of 53 universities in the state of Illinois, attends four
summer institutes with the program, where they participate in teaching and
learning classroom practicum and management. Scholars are bound to a contract
that upon graduation they will teach in a school of need for 5 years. The main
goal of the Golden Apple Scholars program is to prepare and mentor young
teaching candidates in order to create well-rounded and enthusiastic teachers.
In the state of
Illinois, schools can be categorized into two types of need: economic and
academic. The state labels a school of academic need based off of ISAT/PSAE
scores. If students who meet state standards are 60% or less, that school is
considered an academic school of need. A school is considered in economic need
if 30% or more of their students are on free and reduced lunch. These are the
two ways that the Golden Apple Scholars program measures need throughout the
schools of Illinois.
A noticeable trend found throughout schools that are
considered academic or economic need is that it is very rare to find one without
the other. Academic and economic schools tend to show up as a pair. The
Scholars program uses the website illinoisreportcard.com to see schools
statistics. Take for example, Chicago Academy High School, in district 299 has
a PSAE combined reading and mathematics scores at 34% this year and the amount
of students who are on free and reduced lunch is 84.7%. Not only is Chicago
Academy High School an example of economic and academic need going together,
but there is also a large amount of schools downstate that see this trend too.
At Cahokia High School in Cahokia, Illinois their PSEA combined reading and
mathematics scores are at 22% this year and their low income students are at
85.2%. Because of schools such as Chicago Academy, and Cahokia is the reason
why the scholars program is put into place in the state of Illinois.
One
of the mottos that the scholars program has is, “All children deserve excellent
teachers”, meaning that no matter what school a child goes to, whether they
have low test scores, or a high percentage of low income students, they deserve
a highly qualified educator. Adolescents that are force to attend whatever
school they live the closest too may find themselves in a situation where they themselves
are from a low income household, or attend a school that has low state test
scores. In any given case, Golden Apple believes that teachers are the base for
improving schools in general, but by starting with a positive role model as a
teacher paves the way for student success because students have someone to look
up to. The foundation says, “Studies show that there is a shortage of
qualified, enthusiastic teachers entering the profession, and a particular
shortage of minority and bilingual teachers. Students need teachers who have
similar backgrounds and experiences to serve as role models and give them the
hope of a promising future” (goldenapple.org). The scholars that the foundation
choses are ones that are able to relate to students who attend schools of high
need.
Being
a part of the scholars program is also being a part of a support system to help
young adolescent through college by providing financial and academic support.
Much like the communities scholars want to teach in, many of them come from
places that are similar. In the scholar class of 2014, 39% of scholars come
from low income families. The scholars program provides the focus for scholars
in college by providing expectations that must be met every semester such as a
gpa requirement, being a full time student, and graduating within four years.
The
scholars program has had 1,600 participants since their start in 1989 thus
making it the largest pre-teaching program in the nation
After
having the background about the scholars program and their mission to work in
underprivileged schools in Illinois, the question that is presented is does the
foundation accomplish the goal to better schools throughout Illinois? Since
1989, more than 665,000 students have been taught by Golden Apple Scholars. Regarding
to academic need, more than 67% of math students in scholars classrooms made at
least a year’s worth of progress in math. In the past year, Chicago Public
Schools have had many talks with the foundation wanting to hire Golden Apple
Scholars to work in their schools. 44% of new teachers leave their initial
school within two years in contrast to scholars whom 82% teach 5 or more years
in their initial school.
One
topic that comes out as controversial is how the foundation has to get money
from the state. Because of the state of Illinois lacks funding due to budget
problems, what should be an easy cause to give to, becomes difficult. Every
single year, members from the Foundation go to lobby in Springfield in order to
main Golden Apple’s budget for the scholar program. This is where the line
where education becomes less about education and more about politics.
Congressmen in Springfield pose many questions to the program to challenge
their funding such as: why should more scholars be added to the program? The
scholars program has been becoming increasingly bigger, and people have mixed
feelings about it because it does require more funding.
I
was named a Golden Apple Scholar in 2012, and my life has been changed
dramatically by being in the program. It has given me the confidence to
actively go after my vision of being an educator by supporting me through my
college journey. Every school that I have been in has been a school of need,
and I want to be a role model for my students the way my teachers were for me. The
scholarship money that is provided to me is the main reason why I am able to
attend college. The standards that have been set for me keep me on track
academically, and wanting to have my mentors at the foundation proud of my
success, is what drives me to do well here at Concordia. Attending three summer
institutes have reinforced my major in secondary education and have given me
hand on experiences in a number of schools settings across Illinois such as a
Nobel Prep charter school, a CPS elementary school, and a high school in East
Saint Louis. I am proud to be an in-the-making success story of the Golden
Apple Scholars program.
Works
Cited:
"Golden Apple
Scholars." Illinois Teaching
Excellence Foundation – Awards and Scholarships. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov.
2014.
"Chicago Academy
High School and Cahokia High School." Illinois
Report Card. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2014.
Yo thats my teacher!!!!!:)
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