KCTS-TV honors Everett, Monroe teachers with Golden Apple awards

Two Snohomish county teachers, Aaron Holmberg, a teacher at Everett’s Jefferson Elementary School, and Randy Brown, a teacher at Monroe’s Fryelands Elementary School, are among 12 Washington educators selected for Golden Apple awards by KCTS-TV, the Seattle public broadcasting station.

Holmberg has been a fourth-grade teacher since 2004. He has worked to find ways to enrich the curriculum, creating materials aimed at helping students achieve a deeper understanding of math and arranging for parent volunteers to work in his classroom, partnering with them to assist students with their individual needs in learning math.

He created binders supplementing the math curriculum for every grade level, a tool that is now available district-wide.

He made additions to modular kits used in Everett Public Schools fourth-grade science lessons so that his students would have the opportunity to focus on a main idea in each lesson and reach a deeper understanding of science concepts.

Brown is third-grade teacher at Fryelands Elementary School. Colleagues said that he has used technology to provide more and better learning opportunities for his students.

Brown’s students also learn valuable lessons outside the classroom. Through a club he started called Students Can Make A Difference, Fryelands students have participated in a variety of community-service activities.

The Golden Apple Awards honor educators, programs and schools making a positive difference in Washington state education. Recipients will be featured in a special that will air on public television stations across the state.

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