Kelly Golich of Rockford teaches junior Kindergarten (four year-olds) at Rockford’s Keith School. She’s been there 15 of her 28 years of teaching. She’s also taught Pre-School, Kindergarten, 2, 3, 4 and music. While that seems like a long time, Kelly enjoys the variety. She says “no days are the same and flexibility is a teacher’s best friend in the classroom.” She added, “There is always room to grow a bigger garden with what you do and make each new class of students excited to learn and grow.” Her Head of School, Annie Baddoo, compliments Kelly on finding “ways to relate the Pre-K content to the places and events around the world, the nation and the lives of the students.” Kelly says Keith is full of diversity. She takes her students “on an alphabetical trip around the world which includes multicultural foods, crafts, stories, songs and experiences on their own level. We have been athletes at the Ancient Athens Olympics. We have hula danced in Hawaii. We have made our own pizza in Venice. Multicultural learning is so much fun and teaches that we are a salad bowl of differences but a melting pot as one big family.” Kelly’s continued enthusiasm for teaching definitely promotes student engagement. Baddoo shared that, “In Kelly’s classroom, student engagement is at such a high level that one cannot tell the difference between the high, average and low students. As a result of her high expectations and her ability to differentiate the curriculum, they all improve, grow and exceed expectations.” A Golden Apple Academy member observing Kelly’s class remarked about how much the children knew about math and geography. “I was flabbergasted”! Baddoo, who reviews Kelly’s lesson plans and curriculum and observes her classes and interactions, also recommended Kelly because she, “not only excels in each of these areas, she is genuine and joyful as she interacts with students and performs her work.”