The Golden Apple Award is given to students and school faculty throughout the state of Illinois. This organization has many different aspects, and the different sections of awards offer many opportunities for people.
“Golden Apple is a non-profit organization. Their sole focus is trying to improve education specifically in low income or needy areas. They provide scholarships for students who want to become teachers. They work with educators across this state to try and provide resources and professional development,” said Principal Dr. James Roscoe. “So, they’re an educational organization, and their hope is to truly find those special talented students who see themselves as future teachers.”
Principal Roscoe is one of eight finalists in the state. It is unknown when the final award will be announced. Even though the date is unknown, there are events that are occurring in a lead up to find out more about Principal Roscoe and the school as a whole.
“I don’t really know [when I find out who wins]. They [came]Friday, March 8, and here’s the very nerve racking part for me, they’re doing a site visit. They wanted to come Monday, but I said, ‘well we have something kind of special going on Friday,’ because we have The Big Game, and hopefully they’ll be here for the full day to see that. That’s one of those unique special things that I was talking about earlier that makes this school, I think, truly special. The amount of work, the recognition, the inclusion of everybody, I mean that’s what Grayslake North is all about, and I hope they get a chance to see that. They’ll be interviewing students, interviewing parents, interviewing staff members,” Roscoe said. “Then apparently what happens is some time during the spring, they will show up at the winner’s school and surprise them with the final award. So I won’t know when that is. All I know is that it’s sometime in the spring if this school happens to be the school.”
Within the Golden Apple Award, there are multiple levels of awards, giving a selection of people the chance to receive it.
“There’s two levels. There’s an excellence in teaching award and there are 32 finalists across the state there, and then there’s a leadership award focused usually on a principal, and as I’ve said, there are eight of us who have made it to the final round there,” Roscoe said. “You had to get nominated. There was an application piece, and they searched through all of those pieces. I, of course, had to write something.”
Dr. Roscoe has his own personal feelings and thoughts about this award, and he shares his opinions regarding the overall school.
“To me, being a finalist and being recognized, it’s not about me. It’s a reflection of all that goes on in this building, our students, our staff. I am the luckiest person in the world to walk into this building every day, really. My own daughters will be coming here, and I can’t wait. So it really is a reflection of everything that goes on in this building.”