District 202 Student Selected as Golden Apple Scholar

Evanston Township High School student Kathryn Brown has been selected as one of the 135 students named as a Golden Apple Scholar, according to a press release.

The Evanston Township High School District 202 student was chosen from 1,285 nominations. The 2013 Golden Apple Scholars class are people who have demonstrated passion and commitment to pursuing a career in education. The Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois Program is designed to address the urgent need for resilient and creative teachers serving Illinois students in economically and educationally disadvantaged schools.

The program provides tuition assistance to each future teacher while they pursue an undergraduate education at one of 53 Illinois universities.

Throughout their undergraduate years scholars participate in a comprehensive series of pre-student-teaching internships, mentoring and course work on the art of teaching delivered by Golden Apple Award-winning teachers.

When Scholars complete the program, they have acquired more than three times the classroom experiences garnered by traditionally prepared teachers. Golden Apple continues to support Scholars after they begin their teaching careers through mentoring and professional development opportunities.  

In return for the financial and professional development support that is provided by Golden Apple, scholars agree to teach in a high-need school in Illinois for five years following graduation.

The program by numbers:

• 82% of Golden Apple Scholars teach for five-plus years in a school of need versus 44% of new teachers, who leave their initial school within two years.
• 83% of Golden Apple Scholars successfully graduate from college each year, dramatically outpacing the national average graduation rate of 58%
• More than 600,000 students in Illinois have been taught by Golden Apple Scholars