The 10 Golden Apple Award-winning teachers for this school year in The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington stepped to the head of the class and took center stage at a May 16 awards dinner at the Hotel at the University of Maryland in College Park.
The teachers each received a golden apple and are receiving a monetary award of $5,000 from the Donahue Family Foundation, which sponsors the annual award for teaching excellence and dedication to Catholic education.
The 2024 Golden Apple Award-winning teachers for the archdiocese are:
- Renee Clark, a resource teacher at St. Mary of the Assumption School in Upper Marlboro, Maryland;
- Jacqueline Cowger, a second grade teacher at the Cardinal Hickey Academy in Owings, Maryland;
- Paty Gonzalez, who teaches pre-kindergarten to 3-year-olds at Sacred Heart School in Washington, D.C.;
- Allie Harper, a fifth grade teacher at St. John’s School in Hollywood, Maryland;
- Patty Holt, a fourth grade teacher at Holy Cross School in Garrett Park, Maryland;
- Holly Kaufmann, a religion teacher at St. Mary’s Ryken High School in Leonardtown, Maryland;
- Josephine Keeton, a second grade teacher at Little Flower School in Great Mills, Maryland;
- Michelle Roche, a fourth grade teacher at St. Raphael School, Rockville;
- Margo VanDenBossche, a third grade teacher at St. Peter’s School in Waldorf, Maryland; and
- Ashley White, a Spanish and religion teacher at St. Mary’s School in Bryantown.
Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory, in a video that showed highlights of the surprise Golden Apple Award announcements at the teachers’ Catholic schools, thanked the Golden Apple winning teachers for their “incredible dedication educating our children and for helping them better know Christ each day.”
At the dinner, Kelly Branaman, the archdiocese’s Secretary for Catholic Schools and Superintendent of Schools, thanked the Donahue Family Foundation for its generous support of the Golden Apple Awards.
Speaking on behalf of the Golden Apple Award-winning teachers, Josephine Keeton, a second grade teacher at Little Flower School in Great Mills, noted, “I teach at a Catholic school because this is what God has called me to do. God has blessed me with a deep faith and a passion for sharing it, through teaching, with children.”
Keeton, who prepares her second graders to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation and First Holy Communion and who attends the First Communions of all of her students at seven Southern Maryland parishes, said she tries to provide them with “a solid academic and spiritual foundation in an important sacramental year.”
First hired as a pre-kindergarten aide at Little Flower School in 2013, Keeton later served as a PE teacher for the students there before attaining her dream job at Little Flower eight years ago as the second grade teacher.
“I really enjoy building relationships with each student and seeing them grow as individuals,” said Keeton, who said she tries to model kindness, compassion and understanding to her students. “Not only will it help my students on a day-to-day basis, but it is also something they can carry into their future.”
Keeton said Little Flower School is a special place for her, and now that her 3-year-old daughter is a pre-kindergarten student there, she loves her vocation as a Catholic school teacher even more.
In an opening prayer at the gathering, Washington Auxiliary Bishop Evelio Menjivar thanked Catholic school teachers, principals and staff for their faith and dedication. He said teachers at Catholic schools “inspire our next generation to pursue leadership roles and change the world” and said “the seeds they plant today will produce a good harvest tomorrow.”
He noted how South African leader Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
Later before he offered a closing prayer, Bishop Menjivar said, “To be an educator, to be a teacher is a special vocation. You hear the call to go to students, to go to children, and that is where you are making a great impact.”
Link to Catholic Standard series profiling this year’s 10 Golden Apple Award-winning teachers:
