Chicago, IL – The Archdiocese of Chicago is proud to announce that three Catholic school personnel – a principal and two teachers – are finalists for the 2017 Golden Apple Awards. Ms. Phyllis Cavallone-Jurek, principal of St. Therese Catholic School in Chicago, is one of 10 Chicagoland finalists for the Golden Apple Stanley C. Golder Leadership Award, which honors the exemplary performance and excellence in school leadership of a principal or head of school from the Chicagoland area. Ms. Kelli Kielusiak, a teacher at St. Therese Catholic School in Chicago, and Ms. Tyra Stall, a teacher at Prince of Peace Catholic School in Lake Villa, are both finalists for the 2017 Golden Apple Awards for Excellence in Teaching. This year’s 33 finalists for the Golden Apple Awards for Excellence in Teaching were selected from a pool of more than 600 nominations, and represent 4th-8th grade teachers throughout the Chicagoland area.
“I want to congratulate Phyllis, Kelli and Tyra for their amazing contributions to Catholic education,” said Dr. Jim Rigg, Superintendent of Catholic schools. “Our students are the heart of our schools and it is through the hard work and dedication of our principals, teachers and staff that we are able to provide them with a high quality, Christ-centered education.”
Ms. Cavallone-Jurek, Ms. Kielusiak and Ms. Stall will join the other 2017 Golden Apple Chicagoland finalists for a celebration on Saturday, March 4 at the Hilton Rosemont-Chicago O’Hare. The event will be livestreamed on Golden Apple’s Facebook page, @goldenappleillinois.
The winner of the 2017 Golden Apple Stanley C. Golder Leadership Award will be selected this spring, and will receive a cash award of $10,000 to be used for his or her own professional development and a school project of the recipient’s choosing. In addition, the winner will be recognized at the Golden Apple Awards for Excellence in Teaching and Leadership annual event on May 20, 2017.
Finalists for the Golden Apple Awards for Excellence in Teaching will go through a final round of review and classroom observations prior to the selection and announcement this spring of the 10 teacher award recipients. The award recipients will each receive a tuition-free, spring quarter sabbatical to study at Northwestern University, as well as a $5,000 cash award. Additionally, the recipients will become Fellows of the Golden Apple Academy of Educators.
To learn more about the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Catholic schools, visit schools.archchicago.org.
About the Archdiocese of Chicago Catholic Schools
The Archdiocese of Chicago Catholic schools serve more than 76,000 students in 217 schools, including 180 Archdiocesan-sponsored schools, in Cook and Lake Counties. It is one of the largest private school systems in the United States and the recipient of the greatest number of U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon Awards of any school system – public or private. In July 2015, all Archdiocesan elementary and secondary schools were successfully accredited by AdvancED, the largest community of educational professionals in the world.
About the Archdiocese of Chicago
The Archdiocese of Chicago, the third largest in the United States, serves more than 2.2 million Catholics in 3476 parishes in Cook and Lake Counties, a geographic area of 1,411 square miles. The Archdiocese, pastored by Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, has more than 15,000 employees in its systems and ministries, including Catholic Charities, the region’s largest nonprofit social service agency. The Archdiocese also has one of the country’s largest seminaries. The Archdiocese’s 217 elementary and secondary schools comprise one of the largest U.S. private school systems and have garnered more U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon Awards than any system of any type.