‘Makes us all better people’: Naperville orchestra teacher wins Golden Apple Award

The screeching sound of kazoos and screaming students that greeted orchestra teacher Matthew White during a surprise announcement at Scullen Middle School wasn’t exactly a symphonic masterpiece. But it had to be music to his ears.

White was honored with a Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching at the Naperville school on Thursday.

“Music is a universal language,” he said after the ceremony. “The second that students walk in, we’re all doing something collaboratively and working toward a greater goal of putting beauty out into the world. And what better lesson for anywhere else in your life than to just work together and treat each other with kindness and put beauty out into the world.”

The awards honor outstanding teachers for having lasting, positive effects on students’ lives and school communities.

White, an 11-year veteran of teaching, was one of 10 teacher recipients of the award and was selected by the Golden Apple Foundation from more than 600 nominations among fourth through eighth grade teachers in Illinois.

Eighth grader Mwanashe Kureva spoke on behalf of her classmates during the presentation, explaining how he “makes us all better people.”

“He sees potential in everyone, even those who haven’t noticed it in themselves yet,” she said. “At your lowest, least confident moments, Mr. White builds you up.”

Principal Scott Loughrige, a former music teacher himself, said White creates an environment where students have a voice and “see themselves in their classwork and in their learning.”

“It’s not just teaching notes and rhythms, but also collaboration, being able to think outside the box and creatively,” Loughrige said. “Mr. White creates a beautiful community in his classroom.

“They know when they come into his classroom,” Loughrige said, “they are seen, they are welcomed and that they are loved. And that allows them to take risks with music, and that gets them excited.”

Indian Prairie Unit District 204 Superintendent Adrian Talley said White is the district’s first Golden Apple recipient in more than 20 years.

Talley told a story from White’s award nomination about a deaf student with a cochlear implant who struggled to hear his own tone on a traditional violin. White collaborated with audiologists and engineers to connect an electric violin directly to the student’s implant system, then advocated that the school purchase the instrument to provide the student with permanent access to music.

“He works creatively to help middle school students grow and achieve,” Talley said. “Most importantly, he ensures that every student has the opportunity to succeed in his classroom, regardless of ability or disability.”

White received a $5,000 cash award and a spring sabbatical provided at no cost by Northwestern University. He also joins the Fellows of the Golden Apple Academy of Educators, a community of educators dedicated to addressing the teacher shortage in Illinois.

In an environment where teachers have to suss out AI-generated work when students turn in papers, White said music education is more important than ever.

“This is so human,” he said of music. “Music is so much bigger than us and helps connect us all in a way that’s very powerful.”