On May 17, The Prevention Network hosted the annual Golden Apple Gala which honors a select few of educators in Southwestern Pennsylvania. This year, seven teachers from Freedom were nominated for this notable award.

Middle school teacher Tina Boyd, U.S. History and AP psychology teacher Maria Porter, elementary school teacher Linda Haffner, middle school librarian Sara Heiman, gifted education coordinator Sara Miller, elementary school teacher Gena Tokar and communications teacher Brad Baldwin were all nominated by their peer administrators for going above and beyond to ensure the success of their students.

The Golden Apple award is for teachers who teach with passion and dedicate themselves to helping their students succeed. The awards were separated into grades K-4, 5-8 and 9-12. This means that two high school, two middle school, and three elementary teachers from Freedom were recognized.

Each teacher was nominated by their schools’ administration who had to write a letter of recommendation on why they should be recognized. The event is sponsored by the Prevention Network & Class Academy in Baden, Pennsylvania.

There are not many awards put in place for teachers to win, which makes this a very special and one of a kind award to be recognized for.

“It means a great deal to be nominated for this award. Any recognition, whether a comment or nomination for an award, is so rewarding. I feel honored to be a part of the Freedom Area School District, and being surrounded by such a caring community, staff and student body,” Baldwin said.

This award recognizes teachers who possess four qualities: dedication to students, school spirit, positive influence on colleagues and a trait that makes them unique.

These teachers more than exceed these expectations and their students have nothing but good things to say about them.

“Mr. Baldwin cares about every student and understands what each student is capable of and helps them do the best that they can do,” sophomore Shyann Komara said.

“Mrs. Porter cares a lot about how students perform in and out of her classroom; she genuinely enjoys seeing students improve and always tries to push people to their greatest potential,” freshman Madison Lewis said.

“Mrs. Boyd is my favorite teacher because she takes pictures with students and frames them,” fifth-grader Adam Rhodes said, “She cares about all of her students and it feels like you can talk to her about anything.”

This is not the first time teachers from Freedom have been nominated for this award. With a wide variety of nominees, it is not an easy award to win. Despite this, the nomination itself has been a huge compliment to each teacher.