Lawrence Schools Foundation hands out Golden Apple Awards to outstanding teachers

Debra Williams, a special education teacher at Sunset Hill Elementary, and Shakiyya Bland, a math teacher at Liberty Memorial Central Middle School, have been given this year’s Golden Apple Awards by the Lawrence Schools Foundation.

The awards honor one teacher or administrator at the elementary level and one at the secondary level for outstanding contributions to students. The honor comes with a $1,500 prize.

Both Bland and Williams said they were shocked to find out they won during an April event hosted by the foundation.

Shakiyya Bland.

Debra Williams.

Candidates must be nominated by a teacher, student, parent or community member. According to a press release Lawrence Schools Foundation, which raises money for the district, both Bland and Williams received multiple letters of recommendation.

For Williams, one of them came from the parent of a student with special needs, writing that Williams is “fair, tenacious, consistent and sensitive.” Because of those qualities, “we have seen incredible growth in our son, both academically and in the respect that he has for others,” the parent wrote.

“I think one of the greatest blessings about being a teacher is the relationships you get to develop with students and parents and other teachers,” Williams said. “Those relationships have been especially sweet for me.”

Kim Henrichs, a teacher at Liberty Memorial, wrote of Bland that she “helps students develop emotionally and socially.”

“Her classroom has an energy and an excitement about it,” Henrichs wrote of the math teacher. “She delivers lessons in a multitude of ways utilizing group problem solving, technology and fun activities to help all students engage in learning and master concepts.”

Bland said she invests a lot of energy in her job and in the school.

“It’s nice to see that my colleagues appreciate that, as well as my students,” Bland said. “I really care about what I do. It’s not just a job.”