A golden surprise

A third grade teacher at Aurora Heights was honored recently as the recipient of the IMT/WHO Golden Apple Award winner to honor her years of dedication and her willingness to help students during the difficult year.

Krysten Osby was honored in a virtual ceremony, a first for the Golden Apple tradition. Aurora Heights Principal Jim Gilbert said he was notified Osby had won the award in October and just as they were getting ready to host the ceremony, the school district made the decision to move to all virtual instruction for two weeks.

“We had to still keep it all a secret and then WHO had to work with us on this end and we had to figure out, how are we going to do this remotely with TV cameras on their end in the studio and then TV cameras on our end here and then still involving the kids.”

So the school sent out Zoom links to all the kids and parents so they could be involved in the big reveal. On the day of the assembly, the kids were projected on the big screen in the gymnasium and teachers were gathered, keeping a proper social distance. After the announcement, Osby said she had no idea what was happening.

“I was just completely shocked. I feel very lucky to work in Newton and we have tremendous teachers here,” she said.

From an early age, Osby knew she wanted to be a teacher. In fact, it was in her third grade class in Newton with Mrs. Chadwick when she knew she was destined to be a teacher when she grew up.

The desire was confirmed in fifth grade when a student teacher from Central College made her love school even more and knew she wanted

“She was amazing and she kinda sealed the deal for me,” Osby said. “After I met her, she really made me love ... being around kids and I knew from then that I just wanted to teach.”

Following her graduation from Newton High School in 2001, Osby attended Central College to receive her degree. After college, she could think of no better town than Newton to have a teaching career.

“I feel like I received a wonderful education and I have such fond memories of my teachers,” Osby said. “I had such fantastic teachers in Newton that I just knew I wanted to do the same thing and just give back to my community.”

Now in her 16th year of teaching, Osby has worked to adapt in this unusual year. She and the two other third grade teachers at AH, Jenny Jensen and Jane Cibula, meet on a regular basis to be sure they keep the students engaged. This was especially important during the weeks of remote learning.

“We’ve been making these videos and doing everything on Zoom has just been a big learning experience for us. Parents have done a fantastic job of helping out and answering questions and emailing us if they’re not sure on things so it’s just been really nice that everyone is working together,” Osby said.

She said the kids have adapted fairly well this school year. While remote learning, Osby was impressed by how much her students had learned and how willing they were to help troubleshoot if other students were having issues with sound or video during Zoom instruction.

However, the students would much rather be in the classroom as most of them cheered when they found out the fully remote learning would be ending after two weeks.

“They could not wait to be back here,” Osby said.

Gilbert has affectionately nicknamed her “Mother Teresa” because she has a “keen sense” about what students need and not just in the classroom. He said she is an extremely confident teacher, understands the curriculum and how to manage her classroom. But her caring for the kids goes beyond classroom instruction.

“She will always come to me and say, ‘hey do you think we can find some food for this family’ or ‘I think the utilities are going to be turned off’ or this kid needs a jacket, or mittens or gloves. It’s just nonstop. Every day she seems to come in and want to meet the needs of kids,” Gilbert said.

Osby is quick to point out she isn’t the only teacher who goes the extra mile to help students, especially in such an unusual year. During the shutdown, many teachers in the district, including Osby, would deliver students materials to be sure they had something to work on at home.

“That’s just something that a lot of teachers do. When they know that their kids are going without, they’ll kind of pitch in and do what’s needed,” she said. “The district years ago had the motto of Whatever it Takes and we’ve just kind of stuck with that.”

A news feature aired on WHO Channel 13 showing the announcement and Osby’s reaction to receiving the award.

Contact Pam Pratt at 641-792-3121 ext. 6530 or pampratt@newtondailynews.com