Fox Meadow Elementary teacher Aimee Legatzke got quite the surprise interruption during story time with her kindergarten class on Monday afternoon at the South Elgin school.
A parade of family members, co-workers and a contingent from the Golden Apple Foundation filled the small room to inform Legatzke that she was awarded the Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching.
To say she was surprised was an understatement.
Fox Meadow Elementary kindergarten teacher Aimee Legatzke hugs her daughter Madi, 10, on Monday after finding out she won a Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching. Her son Jack, 8, is pictured just beyond them.
Rick West/rwest@dailyherald.com
“Oh my gosh, thank you so much everybody. I’m like shaking,” she said between exuberant hugs. “I am so honored and so overwhelmed.”
Legatzke, who has taught at the school for nine years and has been with the district for all of her 21-year career, was selected from more than 600 nominations of prekindergarten through third grade teachers and is one of 10 teacher award winners in the state.
“It was very surprising even to be nominated, and so to be a finalist was overwhelming,” she said. “And now it’s just so hard to put into words how much of an honor it is and how much I feel undeserving. To be honored in this way is just so humbling.”
The Golden Apple Foundation, an Illinois-based nonprofit committed to preparing, mentoring, and honoring educators, gives the annual awards to teachers for having lasting, positive effects on students’ lives and school communities.
Fox Meadow Elementary kindergarten teacher Aimee Legatzke gets together with her class to pose for a photo on Monday after being surprised with a Golden Apple award at the South Elgin school.
Rick West/rwest@dailyherald.com
School Principal Jason Gold said Legatzke is more than deserving to be Elgin Area School District U-46’s first winner of the award.
“It’s just amazing. She’s student-centered, all about the kids, and she really tries to understand what each child needs to move them forward,” Gold said. “She works so hard every day with the planning that she does, and she’s so deserving.
Legatzke receives a $5,000 cash award and a paid spring quarter sabbatical at Northwestern University. Award recipients also become Fellows of the Golden Apple Academy of Educators, a community that helps prepare the next generation of teachers in the Golden Apple Scholars and Accelerators programs — which are dedicated to addressing the teacher shortage in Illinois.
Fox Meadow Elementary kindergarten teacher Aimee Legatzke is hugged by fellow teacher Candra Chavda after Legatzke was announced as one of 10 winners in Illinois of the Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Rick West/rwest@dailyherald.com
Legatzke said she’s always known she was born to teach.
“I love it. Every day is hard, but every year is wonderful,” she said. “This is all I’ve ever wanted to do, and I’ll stay here for as long as they let me.”
Fox Meadow Elementary kindergarten teacher Aimee Legatzke gets a hug from her mom Dianne Hutchison after Legatzke found out she won a Golden Apple award at the South Elgin school on Monday.
Rick West/rwest@dailyherald.com
Fox Meadow Elementary kindergarten teacher Aimee Legatzke is surprised by Golden Apple Foundation President Alan Mather at the South Elgin school on Monday with the news that she was a winner of the Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Rick West/rwest@dailyherald.com