Hearts of gold: From CUC to the classroom, Golden Apple winners and scholars teach from the heart

Related Articles

Upcoming Events

This story is featured in Vol. 4, No. 2 of The Forester, the official magazine of Concordia University Chicago.  For more information on the College of Education, click here or contact the Office of Undergraduate Admission at Admission@CUChicago.edu or (708) 209-3100.

For more information on education programs through the Graduate College, contact the Office of Graduate Admission at Grad.Admission@CUChicago.edu or (708) 209-4093.

By Morgan Lord

It’s 8:58 a.m. and fourth-graders, all wearing white collar T-shirts and blue slacks, start to file into Lisa Simoncelli-Bulak ’05’s classroom. Almost all of them are excitedly chatting about their weekends. One student brought his puppy to the dog park for the first time. One found out that she may need reading glasses. Another went to the planetarium.

Simoncelli-Bulak is ready to start the week. She has taught fourth grade at Westdale Elementary School in Northlake, Ill., ever since graduating from Concordia-Chicago in 2005. She is also among the Golden Apple scholars who have trained in education at CUC.

Concordia-Chicago holds a long tradition of enrolling and preparing Golden Apple Scholars for their teaching careers. Scholars are high school seniors competitively selected through the Golden Apple Foundation for special training and financial support throughout college as they prepare to become teachers. In exchange, scholars agree to teach for at least five years at an Illinois high-needs school after graduation.

The University’s College of Education and College of Graduate and Innovative Programs have also trained an impressive number of graduates who go on to win recognition as winners of the Golden Apple Awards for Excellence in Teaching, considered Illinois’ “Academy Awards of teaching”

Among those Golden Apple Fellows is CUC alumnus Jim Sorensen MA ’95, now director of the Golden Apple Scholars program. This winter, he and fellow Golden Apple Fellow Jim Arey ’91 came to campus with Golden Apple Scholars including Bianca Severino MA ’07 at the behest of Carol Gaul, EdD, associate professor of reading. Gaul is also a 1996 Golden Apple recipient and Fellow, actively serving with the foundation.

Together, the group met with current CUC education students to talk about preparing for the real-world classroom.

The Golden Apple Foundation announces 10 teachers as its 2010 honorees this month; serving on the selection committee was Lauren Wellen ’69, EdD, associate professor of education.

Morning bell

 “Good morning class,” Simoncelli-Bulak says. “Let’s all stand up and replay the steps of the water cycle that we learned last week. Robert, will you play the sun this morning?”

 Robert, a pale boy with red hair, stands on his chair with his arms outstretched like the rays of the sun. All of the students circle around him, using their bodies to act out evaporation, condensation and precipitation.

 “I love getting the students excited about learning, getting engaged,” Simoncelli-Bulak says. “And I find that when you keep them busy, there are not a lot of behavior problems.”

 Each classroom at Westdale Elementary has a SMARTboard, an interactive whiteboard. And being creative in the classroom is where Simoncelli-Bulak thrives.

Simoncelli-Bulak knew at a young age that teaching would be her life’s work. “My teachers in high school saw it in me, and let me teach lessons.”

 Besides teaching her fourth-graders, Simoncelli-Bulak heads Scholastic Read for struggling readers, started a math club, and is the score keeper for student basketball and volleyball games. She sees a possible future in administration, as a curriculum director or a college professor.

 When she’s not at school, Simoncelli-Bulak spends her time with her family, her husband, who is a high school math teacher at Plainfield East High School, and their 1-year-old daughter.

The North Aurora native has given two Golden Apple presentations on classroom management, one at the Center for Ongoing Renewal and Enrichment conference in 2006 at St. Xavier University and one at Concordia-Chicago in 2009 to future teachers.

 When it comes to teaching, Simoncelli-Bulak says it’s all about sharing. “It is very easy to feel isolated if you let yourself. Use everyone, and if you need help, ask for it.”

Gold Standard

As they enter college to begin their teacher training, Golden Apple Scholars like Simoncelli-Bulak meet rigorous criteria to remain eligible throughout their program and college careers. Scholars must earn a bachelor’s degree from a participating Illinois university such as Concordia-Chicago and obtain Illinois teacher certification, in addition to the five-year teaching requirement after graduation.

In return, the Golden Apple Scholars receive $2,500 each year for their first two years and $5,000 each year for their last two years in college. After four summers in the program, their title changes from Golden Apple Scholar to teaching scholar. They also receive summer stipends for institute study and receive advanced teacher preparation to support their success teaching deserving children in challenging school settings.

“Summer programs are functional: The students are not just sitting, listening about teaching  practices,” says Jim Sorensen MA ’95, director of the Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois and a 1999 Golden Apple Award recipient.

Since 1986, the Golden Apple Foundation annually has chosen 10 outstanding teachers to receive the Golden Apple Award. With the award, honorees receive a paid semester sabbatical, a cash award of $3,000 and lifetime membership induction into the Golden Apple Academy of Educators. The academy conceives, develops and supports programs for teachers to make them more effective in the classroom.

After 34 years of teaching seventh- and eighth-graders, and earning his Golden Apple Award, Sorensen took the Golden Apple Illinois position three years ago. Part of his job is working with a team of teachers to select the top 100 students from the state of Illinois for Golden Apple Scholar consideration.

Teaching is in Sorensen’s blood. His aunt was a first-grade teacher in Kansas. His sister and brother-in-law are high school teachers, and his wife has been teaching second grade for 34 years. Even his kids are teachers: His daughter teaches high school English in Japan, while his son teaches gymnastics to pre-school children in Manhattan.

After an undergraduate education at Northern Illinois University, Sorensen went on to earn his masters at Concordia-Chicago.

“Northern helped me to become a teacher. Concordia helped me to become a really good teacher,” he says. “Teaching is not about the subject, it’s about the kids.”

Arey of light 

Golden Apple Fellow Jim Arey ’91 a CUC secondary education graduate, has taught world history to sophomores at Illinois’ Elk Grove High School for 19 years.

Arey, a Roselle resident, didn’t always feel so passionate about teaching. Before teaching, he realized after jumping from job to job that he truly wasn’t fulfilled. After volunteering at Hephzibah Children’s Association in Oak Park, he connected with two children who taught him that he could reach kids through teaching. A few months later, he started his college education at Concordia.

 “CUC taught me to teach from the heart,” Arey says. “That’s what it’s all about. Just don’t lose that heart.”

 He received the Golden Apple award in 2001 for coordinating a hands-on experimental program that grew to become one of Elk Grove High School’s most popular electives.The program was initially developed in 1976 to expose students to public service careers, with the idea that not all public officials are corrupt. The program provided non-paid internships in public service and a variety of volunteer community service projects.

 “Projects ranged from low-maintenance home repair for older adults to fundraisers supporting our troops,” Arey says. “As teacher and coordinator of the program, I witnessed the power this program had on both students and the community.”

 While the program was cancelled two years ago due to administrative changes, Arey continues his focus on the classroom. “I hope to appeal to something greater than an ACT score,” he says. “I would like to give these students a more global perspective and try to get students to expand their minds.”

 At home, Arey tries to maximize his time spent with his own kids, two boys ages 8 and 7. One way of doing this is coaching their basketball team. He also volunteers as a coach in the community.

Severino serving

 Golden Apple Scholar Bianca Severino MA ’07 is a teacher and director of student services at Chicago’s Noble Street College Preparatory Charter School. Severino inadvertently discovered her passion when her undergraduate professor at another university changed her schedule. Severino is so thankful she did.

 “[My professor] knew me better than I knew myself,” Severino says. Straight out of Benedictine University in 2002, she started working with sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students with multiple disabilities at the Pulaski Fine Arts Academy.

 “In my eight years of teaching, I’ve learned that it’s not about you—it’s about the students,” Severino says.

 In 2007, she received her master’s from Concordia-Chicago in school leadership. She now works for Noble as the director of student services for kids with special needs for the entire network, which includes 10 schools.

 Severino finds that the biggest rewards are the success stories. “Seeing them [students] move an inch or a mile is a huge reward,” she says. “And if they can see that their intelligence is valuable, they’ll succeed.”

 In the future, the Edison Park native sees herself going back to school for her doctorate and hopes to become more involved in the Golden Apple program. She also tries to keep her work at work to spend time at home with her family including her 13-month-old son.

Closing bell

 Back in Simoncelli-Bulak’s classroom, it’s 3:28 p.m. The students gather up their belonging

and line up, each earning a star sticker for packing up on time. By 3:29 p.m. they walk in a line out the door, giving a high five to Simoncelli-Bulak as they exit.

It’s 3:30 p.m. and the school bell rings for the last time today. “See you tomorrow,” Simoncelli-Bulak says.