Fort Madison's Scholl given WGEM award in Keokuk

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BY CHUCK VANDENBERG

PCC EDITOR

FORT MADISON - A teacher from Fort Madison was honored by a local television station for her efforts as an educator in the Keokuk school system.

Angie Scholl, a self-proclaimed Bloodhound who landed a teaching job in the Keokuk system 16 years ago after moving to the area from Chatham, Illinois, was surprised by WGEM News Today anchor Natalie Will Monday morning with the Teacher of the Year award.

The award is the Golden Apple award and it comes with a $100 prize to assist in buying school supplies.

"We were just starting social studies, and I was just floored and didn't know what to say. I almost started crying," Scholl said. "I was shocked and I'm very humble and don't talk about myself and things I do but the kids were ecstatic and wanted to know what was going on. They got some video of us teaching and interviewed my co-teacher and some of the students."

Her nomination form was submitted by her husband Troy and as part of the essay he said that her compassion runs far outside the school building walls.

"How do you know when the teacher's compassion extends beyond the classroom… But the simple fact that after they leave her classroom and move on to the high school, they continue to come back by and stop by her classroom just to say hi ... because the kids understood what it meant when Mrs. Scholl invested in them!," he wrote in the nomination.

"He's always been a big supporter," she said.

Scholl said she grew up in Fort Madison and now lives in Fort Madison but isn't looking to teach in Fort Madison because she loves her job and the students and respects what's going on in her district.

"Since taking over that at-risk program I absolutely love what I do and I believe in the Keokuk school district and what they do... but I'm a Bloodhound. When I moved back it was more important for me to have a solid support structure than to live where I work," Scholl said.

She started her education in San Diego where she was a nanny and went to night school, then came back and graduated from Western Illinois with her teaching certificate in 1993. She said her parents encouraged her and pitched in financially to get her master's degree and she finished that in 2000. Now she's looking at completing her education with an administration degree and wants to someday become a principal.

She said one of her main goals as an administrator would be to keep building relationships with the students and said her husband encouraged her to get her doctorate and push her education, but she said she doesn't really want to be known as Dr. Scholl.

Scholl said her greatest reward is in seeing the growth of the students.

"I absolutely love it when the kids grow and you see the light bulb come on. And I love building the relationships. Many of the students don't have the best home life or their backgrounds are not great. But if we can get them in school and gain their trust and get them to trust us and build that relationship, they can get through the academic piece much easier."

This year Scholl teaches four core classes to sixth graders and then teaches 7th and 8th grade at-risk math classes. She said Keokuk currently has four teachers in the at-risk program.

Angie Scholl, At-Risk students, fort madison, Golden Apple, Keokuk, Pen City Current, Teacher of the Year, WGEM

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