Teacher Scholarship

Golden Apple Foundation and the family of Don Zimmerman are pleased to offer a new scholarship opportunity for area teachers.

Don Zimmerman began teaching locally in 1956 at Rockford West High School as an Orchestra teacher. He later taught at Guilford High School and he always inspired his students to excel to the best of their ability in every part of their lives. Don was the founder of the Rockford Chamber Orchestra and Rockford Area Youth Symphony Orchestra (RAYSO) and spent ten summers teaching music at the Amherst Summer Music Camp in Maine with his family.

Don Zimmerman, and his dear friend, Dr. Richard Novak, took their passion for education and turned it into a collective community effort to recognize excellence in teaching with the founding of the Golden Apple Foundation in 1997. It began out of Don's garage, sorting apples and celebrating local RPS 205 teachers, and today has grown to support all public and ISBE recognized private schools in Winnebago and Boone counties. The Foundation continues its mission of inspiring, celebrating, and supporting educational excellence in our community through awards & recognition, the Golden Apple Teacher Academy, classroom grants, and teacher scholarships.

The Zimmerman family and Golden Apple Foundation honor Don's memory with the Don Zimmerman Golden Apple Scholarship beginning in 2020. This scholarship grants an existing teacher a full-tuition scholarship at Rockford University to complete their Masters degree.

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