Before Kathy Gardenhour was a classroom aide or a teacher at Holy Redeemer School in College Park, Maryland, she was the parent of students there and a parishioner at Holy Redeemer Church. In May, Gardenhour was named one of 10 recipients of the Golden Apple Awards for teaching excellence by the Archdiocese of Washington, after 16 years on Holy Redeemer’s faculty.

“When my son was a kindergartener, I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and lost vision in my right eye,” she told the Catholic Standard. “It was traumatic.” As she became used to her new reality, Gardenhour said, “I decided to find something bigger than myself. I volunteered at the parish doing anything they needed.” One of those needs was for classroom assistance at Holy Redeemer School.

Starting as an aide to the first grade class, she said she soon decided to get certified as a teacher, building on her bachelor’s degree in human development. She’s been on the faculty at Holy Redeemer ever since, her first and only teaching job. 

Gardenhour said when she learned she received a 2021 Golden Apple she was “pleasantly shocked.” 

Nominees for the award are asked to submit applications and essays about themselves and their work to the archdiocese. The annual program honors 10 teachers among 91 schools for excellence in teaching and commitment to Catholic education. Nominations can be made by parents, students or colleagues. The process includes referrals for the award from school administrators and pastors, if a parish school is involved. Winners are chosen by an archdiocese-level selection committee made up of a former winner, a principal, a board member, a donor partner, a parent and, in some years, a high school student. The award recipients receive a $5,000 prize, along with a golden apple and certificate. Information on the process for 2022 nominations will be released in January.

In her essay for the nomination, Gardenhour emphasized that what drives her passion for teaching at Holy Redeemer is the combination of leading children to love learning and reinforcing their place in the world as children of God.

“While it may not always be noted in the curriculum of reading, writing and math, as a Catholic school teacher I model faith and service,” she wrote. “In my teaching I emphasize that as a child of God, we not only have acceptance of our faith but a responsibility to serve others. I teach that our gifts and talents come from God and are best used in the service to others. Our service to others puts our faith into action and defines who we are as Christians.”

She told the Catholic Standard that as the teacher of second graders, she loves the excitement about learning that comes with that age. “In second grade you can really see their confidence growing every day,” she said. 

One of her favorite tasks is to shepherd them through receiving their First Communion.

“I love preparing them for First Communion,” she said. “That’s one of the highlights of the year.”

Second graders are very hands-on about learning, Gardenhour said, so returning to the classroom in person last August was huge. “What stands out is how happy the students were to be in a classroom, even if they were masked. They were so excited to see their friends, even if they had to be six feet apart.”

Holy Redeemer’s pastor, Father Mark Smith, said that Gardenhour’s students understand that with her “you will always know that you belong. That in her classroom, whether you sit there at your desk, or you are connected through a screen, you have found your place, you belong to a community: most of all, that you are cared for and loved.”

The Golden Apple Award was established by the Donahue Family Foundation whose founders, Jack and Rhodora Donahue, sent their 13 children to Pittsburgh Catholic schools. They created the award to express their appreciation to Catholic school teachers. The foundation funds Golden Apple Awards in several dioceses and archdioceses.

“Just as people who love and are passionate about their jobs do a better job, I believe it is no different for students,” Gardenhour said. “I want to provide the same for my students, a love for education that will inspire them to learn and seek understanding for life.”