On Dec. 13 and 15, the Corvallis Public Schools Foundation announced the final two recipients of the 2021 Golden Apple Awards: Maria Adams and Isley Gonzalez, respectively. Gonzalez is a health and physical education teacher and the cross-country and track coach at Cheldelin Middle School. Maria Adams is a kindergarten teacher at Letitia Carson Elementary School and a former teacher at Lincoln Elementary, a dual-language immersion school.
Adams facilitated the delivery of school supplies to kindergartner’s homes and recently earned her English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) endorsement.
“Something I’ve learned from years of experience is that students need real things they can touch and view and be a part of,” she said. “They want to feel that the experiences they have at home are something they can bring and share with school.”
When Gonzalez came to Cheldelin Middle six years ago, she noticed racist comments at school and feelings of isolation among students of color. She empathized, having recently moved to Corvallis from Arizona and joined the school’s all-white teaching staff.
Her second year, she started a diversity club that met once a week, the students of which made an end-of-year presentation to the entire student body about their experiences with racism at school and in Corvallis. With Gonzalez’ help, Cheldelin became the first middle school to found a branch of Students Advocating for Equity (SAFE).
“The first time you have it, the conversation is hard, but then it just gets easier and easier,” said Gonzalez.
Gonzalez and Adams share a passion for running — Gonzalez earned a cross-country/track and field scholarship to Washington State University and Adams ran 19 miles in three days to put a heart on every kindergartner’s door during pandemic school closures.
Earlier this year, Matthew King and Angelo So were also honored.
By Grace Miller
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