Willard Elementary School Kindergarten teacher Meghan Rice was honored with a statewide Golden Apple Excellence in Teaching Award during a ceremony Monday morning.
Just after she finished class at 9:30 a.m, Rice walked into Willard’s multi-purpose room, where she was celebrated as part of a surprise ceremony. After being greeted by friends, family and more, Golden Apple officials gave her a gift basket and community members showered her with compliments.
As part of the award, Rice will join a cohort of Golden Apple award recipients in training the next generation of Illinois teachers, as part of an initiative to address the state’s teacher shortage. In addition to a cash prize of $5,000, Rice was granted a fully-subsidized sabbatical to take classes at Northwestern for two quarters.