Staff Celebrations
Wiley, Pimpleton, Barilleau and Garfield High School earn Golden Apple Awards
Congratulations to Franklin High School Principal Jennifer Wiley, Denny Middle and Chief Sealth High School Music Director Marcus Pimpleton, Hamilton International Middle School Teacher Lary Barilleau and Garfield High School for being named winners of the 20th Annual Golden Apple Awards for Excellence in Education, sponsored by KCTS-9.
The annual awards celebrate educators, programs and schools making a positive difference in Washington state education from early childhood through high school. Students, parents, teachers and community members nominated nearly 200 individuals and programs from public and private schools across the state. A panel of Golden Apple judges including representatives from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Washington Education Association, Washington State Parent Teacher Association, Association of Washington School Principals and past Golden Apple Award honorees evaluated the nominees and selected this year’s winners.
All 2011 Golden Apple winners will be honored at an awards ceremony held in February 2012 in Seattle. Each winner will receive the Golden Apple statue and a cash award, and will also be profiled by KCTS 9 and featured in a primetime broadcast on public television stations statewide in February 2012.
Here is a summary of each award winner, from the KCTS press release issued Tuesday:
2011 Golden Apple Award Winners
Marcus Pimpleton, Music Director, Denny Middle School/Chief Sealth High School, Seattle
Marcus Pimpleton is a passionate force for music education in Seattle schools. In multiple positions—with middle school, high school and university students and the All-City Band—he builds bridges and creates innovative opportunities for his students to learn about life, leadership, volunteering and community through music and performance. In the classroom, Pimpleton saw many middle school students put down their instruments as they made the transition to high school. Aware of the link between music study and academic achievement, he pushed for a chance to teach both the middle- and high-school bands. In two years, the high-school band has doubled in size. He has also run music camps during school breaks and has seen retention rates increase. “The most powerful learning that takes place in my classes is not musical,” he says, “but the personal development that comes from students taking ownership.”
Jennifer Wiley, Principal, Franklin High School, Seattle
Jennifer Wiley believes in education as a tool to provide any individual access to a level playing field and the opportunity to prosper. As principal for eight years of a public high school serving the country’s most diverse zip code, she’s worked with staff to support “a campus free of second-class citizenship.” In 2003, Franklin staff and community chose to de-track—doing away with an honors program for high-performing students only and allowing any student to aim for and achieve honors credit. Nearly nine in ten students from the class of 2009 reported heading to a two- or four-year college, and more than one in five graduating seniors were recently admitted to the University of Washington at a time of high admissions standards. Also a talented percussionist, Jennifer teaches a steel drum class for students with little or no music experience. “She can talk the kids’ language without trying to sound like them,” says one colleague.
Lary Barilleau, Teacher, Hamilton International Middle School, Seattle
Lary Barilleau knows that a student who is active in the arts is a happy student. Called “an ambassador for the world” by one parent, Lary builds a community of creativity, diversity and inclusion through his international arts classes, teaching up to 150 students a day at every level of academic achievement. Through arts education, he teaches pride in one’s own culture and understanding and respect for each other’s. Over the last seven years he’s directed more than 30 cultural performances, brought more than two dozen resident artists from around the globe to Hamilton, and reflected his students’ own diverse cultures through presentations and performances. “The connection to the arts helps strengthen my students’ sense of worth and empathy for those around us,” he says. “The arts enable my students to build creativity and community.”
2011 Golden Apple School of Excellence
Seattle's Garfield High School is like no other high school in Washington State. Its central location, diverse student population, academic opportunities and expectations, clubs and student-centered focus make it not only a unique academic institution, but a top choice among students year after year. Garfield's excellence begins in the classroom and extends to a variety of assessments including the High School Proficiency Exam, End of Course Exams and college preparation exams such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test. Students aspire to be challenged and succeed in academic advancement through the rigorous programs and activities offered at Garfield. The school has the largest and most successful Advanced Placement program around, offering 15 AP courses and 15 Honors courses spanning the arts, sciences and humanities, including three language courses that four out of five students enroll in. Most notably, however, is Garfield's outstanding music education program, which attracts gifted young musicians from across the city and state. The school's nationally recognized jazz band has won every major competition on the West coast and took home first place awards in the Essentially Ellington National Jazz Band Competition and Festival at New York's Lincoln Center in 2009 and 2010