Teacher Lori Ford works with students in her after-school program Thursday at Sunny Hill Elementary School in Carpentersville. Pictured from left are Oscar Gonzalez, 14, Aaron Gutierrez, 11, and his sister Lia Gutierrez, 15. Oscar and Lia are freshmen at Barrington High School, while Aaron is in the sixth grade at Prairie Middle School. (Rick West | Staff Photographer)
Lori Ford truly can say she’s come full circle.
After embarking on her teaching career years ago as a Golden Apple Scholar, Ford now has been selected as a state finalist for the Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching for her work with English language learners and low-income students at Sunny Hill Elementary School in Carpentersville.
Ford was one of three area teachers and 30 throughout the state announced by the Golden Apple Foundation as finalists for the prestigious award among 500 nominees in the fourth-through-eighth-grade category.
“It’s been so exciting,” said Ford, a Stevenson High School graduate. “This is all about the school I teach in and serve. It’s a family here. Everyone’s been so supportive.”
Ford, who began teaching at Sunny Hill in 2005, is an enrichment instructional specialist in Barrington Community Unit District 220. In a role she helped create in 2008, Ford supports elementary, middle and high school students who either currently attend or previously attended Sunny Hill and are part of the district’s gifted program.
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