Rosalia teacher receives state Golden Apple

Jennifer Olson, English, history and leadership teacher at Rosalia High School, won a Golden Apple Award sponsored by KCTS 9 the PBS station in western Washington.

“Jennifer Olson is what education is about,” Rosalia Principal Darrell Kuhn said. “Her leadership, dedication and hard work are a model for our profession.”

She was one of eight award winners and the only one named for the east side of the state.

For the 22nd annual Golden Apple Awards, students, parents, teachers and residents nominated individuals and programs from public and private schools across the state. A panel of education leaders and past Golden Apple Award winners evaluated the nominees and selected the year’s winners.

As a teacher at a small school in a rural area, Olson has made it her goal to help students build skills and self confidence that will put a college education within their reach.

Many of Olson’s students lack home computer access and in order to expose them to tools they could use in college, she has incorporated the use of laptops and other technologies in her classroom. To increase the rigor of her curriculum, she has become an English 101 instructor in Eastern Washington University’s Concurrent Enrollment Program. Her CEP class offers 12th-grade English students the opportunity to do college course work in a supportive small-class setting.

Olson’s ninth-grade state history class and CEP class participate in field trips combining course content with college-campus visits that many students would not have the opportunity to undertake on their own.