Eighteen-karat smiles filled the halls of Collier County schools Thursday as four teachers were honored with Golden Apple awards.
The Golden Apple Celebration of Teachers, run by the Champions for Learning charity, showcases the best teaching talent and educating practices Collier County Public Schools has to offer.
This school year, 54 teachers, representing 53 Collier County Public Schools, fought for the gilded award, opening up their classrooms for evaluation from the volunteer selection committee.
The truly difficult task fell at the feet of Collier County schools. They had to choose which of their talented teachers to nominate for the coveted Golden Apple. Then, the selection committee has to cut that list of excellent educators down to four.
but the 2025 picks ... live up to the gold
Gina Maville DeJage
The prize patrol started at Barron Collier High, where Gina Maville DeJage teaches special education entrepreneurship. Her program, "Preparing Students for L.I.F.E," allows students to try their hands at different jobs. Getting them ready for a world outside her classroom. Many of her students have gone on to work in the Collier community. Tears welled in her eyes as the award was handed off. She thanked her thriving students for their successes were the real reward.
Erin Powell
The next Golden Apple hiked to Vineyard Elementary, where it was welcomed by the colorful class of Erin Powell. Powell has been teaching art for 13 years! Her classroom was littered with ceramic owls, tinfoil fish mobiles, and crayons on crayons on crayons. Powell told Gulf Coast News she was "in shock and honored" by the award. She thanked her school district for celebrating her work and supporting the arts.
Amarillys Berrios
The home of Bulldogs was graced with some gold next. Oakridge Middle School is home to Amarillys Berrios. Her Golden Apple was presented in the middle of her English Language Arts Lesson. Berrios struggled to read as a child, never knowing the work she put into overcoming that obstacle would funnel into her future career. She proudly displays a dad joke on her board every day.
Today's: Why are frogs so happy? Because they eat everything that bugs them.
Sydney Whittaker
The Golden Apple Tour ended at Lake Park Elementary School. Screams, songs, and jumping children welcomed Sydney Whittaker's award. The class performed their rendition of "Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice for all the cameras. Whittaker uses music to teach, many of the lyrics for the Vanilla Ice song, subbed out for for lesson lyrics. Her English Language and Arts class couldn't keep their love for Whittaker to themselves, students told Gulf Coast News' camera crew they have "the best teacher ever."
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