Oswego School District 308 educator named one of Golden Apple finalists

It was just another day for Amy Howerton, English department chair and teacher at Oswego High School, until she discovered she was one of 30 finalists for the Golden Apple Awards for Excellence in Teaching.

In February, during a meeting in another school building, she was flooded with messages out of the blue. She grew increasingly concerned with each buzz and ding, but her nerves were put to ease the instant she received the good news.

“My watch and my phone were pinging, so that adrenaline was already kind of running,” Howerton said in a news release from Oswego School District 308. “Then to read the text that I was a finalist, that adrenaline quickly shifted into kind of a different type of shock – happy shock.”

The path to this moment began in October, when Howerton learned she was one of more than 470 teachers nominated for the award. After deciding to follow through with the award application required for further consideration, she submitted letters of recommendation, essay responses and a recording of her teaching.

“I kind of looked at it as, why not?”Howerton said in the release. “If someone felt compelled to nominate me, I could put in some of that time and effort to honor the nomination.”

Both the nomination itself and the notification of being a finalist came as a bit of a surprise to Howerton. Although appreciative, being a finalist for this award is not what matters most to her.

What really warms her heart is knowing that she is making a difference in her students’ lives.

“That’s what I’ve built my career around,” she said in the release.

Howerton has worked in Oswego School District 308 since 2001. In that time, she has worked at both Oswego High School and Oswego East High School.

Currently, in addition to her roles as a teacher and department chair, she is the 42Fifty Adviser, Quill & Scroll Journalism Honor Society Adviser and OHS Care Closet sponsor.

“She has proven her dedication to the art of teaching and helping students to succeed,” District 308 superintendent Andalib Khelghati said in the release. “The Golden Apple recognition is prestigious and certainly well deserved; we are very proud of Dr. Howerton.”

She is a National Board Certified Educator, Certified Journalism Educator and Chicago Metro English Leaders Steering Committee Member.

“I’m just so grateful for the people with whom I have worked,” Howerton said. “I’m very proud of the community I’ve been able to work with and grow with…I’m just so heavily invested in the people.”

The Golden Apple Awards recipients will be selected and announced soon.