The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington recently announced the 10 local Catholic school teachers who have been named as 2023 Golden Apple Award winners. The teachers learned the news in surprise announcements at their schools between April 17 and 20.

The Golden Apple Award, giving annually to 10 Catholic school teachers in the Archdiocese of Washington for teaching excellence and dedication to Catholic education, is sponsored by the Donahue Family Foundation and includes a $5,000 check and a golden apple. The teachers will be presented with their Golden Apple Awards on May 18.

Jack and Rhodora Donahue, founders of the Pittsburgh-based foundation, sent their 13 children to Catholic schools. Eager to express their deep appreciation to Catholic school teachers for providing a quality academic and faith-filled education for their children, the Donahues through their foundation have established this award in five dioceses around the country.

This is the 15^th annual year that the Golden Apple Awards have been presented in The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.

Here are the 10 Golden Apple Award winning teachers for 2023 from Catholic schools in the archdiocese:

• Cheryl Kimm, a kindergarten teacher at St. Peter’s School in Waldorf, Maryland
• Christina Buzzeo, a pre-kindergarten teacher at St. Mary’s School in Bryantown, Maryland
• Amy Clayton, a fifth grade teacher at St. Jerome Academy in Hyattsville, Maryland
• Dominican Sister Mary Olivia Shirley, a fourth grade teacher at St. Anthony Catholic School, Washington, D.C.
• Lurana Hogan, a middle school language arts teacher at Holy Cross School in Garrett Park, Maryland
• Katie Cain, a seventh grade teacher at St. Jude Regional Catholic School in Rockville, Maryland
• Catherine Williams, a first grade teacher at St. Raphael School in Rockville, Maryland
• Jean Zwald, a pre-kindergarten teacher at St. Peter School on Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.
• Lauren Harper, a fifth grade teacher at Our Lady of Victory School in Washington, D.C.
• Carol Corgan, a religion teacher at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C.

A photo gallery of the surprise announcements for the 10 Golden Apple Award winning Catholic school teachers for 2023 will be posted on the Catholic Standard website soon, and later a roundup story on those teachers will be posted on the website.