The Crystal Apple Awards are an annual celebration taking place in March that seeks to recognize public school educators who have made a positive impact on the lives of their students. The program is sponsored by community service groups, businesses, and other organizations that want to recognize and show their appreciation and support for the thousands of outstanding teachers across our region.
This year's honorees are:
- Angie Boothe, 6th–8th grade interventionist for math and English language arts, Columbia Middle School, Columbia School District
- Sydney Freitag, 6th and 7th grade English language arts and STEM teacher, Finley Middle School, Finley School District
- Kori Cannon, kindergarten teacher, Westgate Elementary School, Kennewick School District
- Beth Kalinga, 8th grade physical science teacher, Kiona-Benton City Middle School, Kiona-Benton City School District
- Charlie N. Dansie, 7th–12th grade agriculture science, mechanics and CDL teacher, Connell High School, North Franklin School District
- Tonya Lewis, secondary math teacher, Othello High School, Othello School District
- Elisabeth Copsey, self-contained special education teacher for grades K-4 and structured learning classroom teacher for grades 2-5, Maya Angelou Elementary School, Pasco School District
- Sydney Charvet, 5th grade teacher, Heights Elementary School, Prosser School District
- Nicole Tamura, high school life skills teacher, Richland High School, Richland School District
Program Goals:
- Recognize and reward excellence in education in public schools.
- Encourage creative and quality instruction.
- Encourage the development of a positive learning environment.
- Encourage excellent teachers to remain in education.
- Provide incentive for individual initiative on the part of educators.
- Contribute to the improvement of education in the area's nine public school districts.
Award History:
Originally established in 1999 as the Tri-City Crystal
Apple Awards, the program sought to honor the
Mid-Columbia education profession as a whole by
identifying a few of the many wonderful classroom
teachers in seven public school districts. The 501 (c)(3) non-profit, the Dream Builder's Educational Foundation, has managed the award program since 2010. In 2017, two awards were expanded to include two more school districts, and the Crystal Apple Awards now recognize
teachers from these nine public school districts:
- Columbia
- Finley
- Kennewick
- Kiona-Benton
- North Franklin
- Othello
- Pasco
- Prosser
- Richland
Application Process:
Each district gathers nominations and puts forth one winner (or team of up to 4 winners). (Contact your local school district to learn more about their internal process to determine the district's Crystal Apple winner.) Each Crystal Apple winner is also submitted as a nominee to the Washington State Teacher of the Year program. In addition, one community leader is surprised with a recognition as the Special Achievement Award winner for his/her contributions to the education community.
What Do Winners Receive?
Superintendents from the nine districts present their winners with $1,500 checks, certificates, beautiful glass “crystal apples,” and other gifts provided by area businesses.
How Can I Get Involved?
The Crystal Apple Awards are only possible through the support of generous community sponsors. If you would like to learn more about the Crystal Apple Awards or how you can get involved, contact Director of Communications, Elena Olmstead, at 509.544.5787 or [email protected].