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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING MEGHAN RICE FOR RECEIVING THE GOLDEN APPLE AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING
WHEREAS, Meghan Rice is a kindergarten teacher at Willard Elementary School in Evanston, Illinois. Willard is part of Evanston/Skokie School District 65. On May 3, 2021, she received the prestigious Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching, one of only ten teachers in Illinois to be so honored this year; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Rice was selected out of a record-setting 708 nominations of Pre-K to third-grade teachers. "These outstanding teachers transform the lives of students, schools, and communities over the course of their careers. Their resilience and perseverance in this past year - and their career - has been nothing short of amazing," said Golden Apple President Alan Mather; and
WHEREAS, in announcing the award, Golden Apple noted that Rice builds a classroom of respect and inclusion and looks for ways to expand her capacity as an educator to support and uplift the livelihoods of the children and families that she serves. To ignite student interest, she shares a connection to bridge their previous learning or lived experiences. For example, her students relate to the classroom mascot Mabel the Elephant and she'll use Mabel in an example to share a teaching point - using words, gestures, and visual charts. She is intentional in including multiple learning modalities to help support both language acquisition and the application of skills. She sees her students thrive when they know what they are doing and why they are doing it. Rice worked to ensure her school's literacy curriculum was culturally responsive and relied on that framework to build a system to support both monolingual and bilingual K-2 teachers, especially with the shift to remote learning during the pandemic; and
WHEREAS, when asked about what motivated her during the pandemic, Rice responded the resilience of children and the "connectedness" that she feels with her students. She a...
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