TEACHER TO THE CORE

Sarah Douglas knew exactly what to expect at home plate after she belted a walk-off—or sudden-victory—solo home run for DePaul University’s softball team in an NCAA playoff game more than two decades ago.

Countless high fives from her teammates; hugs that hurt and felt good at the same time; joyous slaps to her helmet; and ear-splitting cheers.

A freshman first baseman at the time, Douglas survived the raucous welcoming from a throng of ecstatic Blue Demons on the University of Iowa softball diamond.

Some 23 years later, in a Highland Park High School gymnasium on May 9, 2024, Douglas—while teaching a physical education class—absorbed another unforgettable celebration that she did not see coming.

“I was shocked,” the 42-year-old recalls. “I had no idea at all.”

A slew of people, in various forms of gait, had entered the gym on that day, from Douglas’ parents, identical twin, spouse, two daughters, and other loved ones, to proud and delighted colleagues and Highland Park Community Foundation (HPCF) members.

They enveloped the stunned Douglas because she had hit it out of the park as a teacher in the 2023-2024 school year and was the recipient of the 2024 Golden Apple Award in her 19th year at Highland Park High School. HPCF and a local family foundation initiated the honor in 2010 to recognize outstanding teachers in the Highland Park public school system. Nominees must have completed four full years of teaching, and nominations rotate among the elementary, middle, and high school levels of teaching.

Active and retired teachers, administrators, and former HPCF Golden Apple Award recipients served as Selection Committee members, evaluating each nominee’s instruction, content knowledge, student and staff interaction, and contribution to school and community. They also observed each finalist teach a full day of classes.

Douglas was presented with a Golden Apple statuette and The Sara Sher Excellence in Teaching Prize—a $2,000 honorarium and $500 Apple Store gift card—on her big day.

“It was an emotional day,” says Douglas, who teaches physical education, adaptive physical education, team sports, and traffic school at HPHS for grades 9-12, and served as the varsity softball coach at Deerfield High School for the past six seasons. “It was so humbling. The award isn’t about just me; it’s also about every department member and administrator who supported and encouraged me.

“The award will make me work harder.”

Raised by Jeff Douglas, a retired steel mill worker, and Michele Douglas, a retired automobile dealership secretary, in Crown Point, Indiana, Sarah started as a Communications major at DePaul but wound up majoring in Kinesiology to put her on a track to a career in education.

“I’ve always loved working with kids, and that love grew stronger when I coached at summer softball and basketball camps,” says Douglas, a 5-foot-9 softball first baseman and basketball forward at Crown Point High School. “I decided to change my major after running a softball clinic at DePaul; I found it fulfilling and rewarding, impacting players’ growth through teaching and coaching.”

Douglas earned a master’s degree in Educational Leadership.

She began her career at HPHS as a part-time teacher’s assistant in the Special Education department in 2005, before assuming full-time duties the following year and eventually becoming an inclusion modification specialist.

“Every day I work with students is a rewarding day and an opportunity to have a lasting impact on all of them,” says Douglas, who lives in Lemont with her wife, high school teacher Sarah Bryers, and their daughters, Remi, 8, and Avri, 6. “I strive to create a safe, positive environment where each student feels comfortable, which leads to an effective learning environment. I don’t demand respect as a teacher; I have to earn it through compassion, empathy, active listening, and engagement.”

Innovation helps, too. Douglas concocted a unique hockey stick for a student in a wheelchair by using a pool noodle and pieces of two standard hockey sticks. She also drilled a hole in a Ping-Pong ball, inserted a thin rope through the opening, and tied the end of the rope to a Ping-Pong table’s net. That meant a paddle-wielding player in a wheelchair could hone their shot-making abilities without having to spend an inordinate amount of time retrieving Ping-Pong balls that had rolled far away from the table.

“Sarah,” a colleague notes, “has a gift for making sure that every student, regardless of physical limitations, participates in a meaningful way.”

HPCF Golden Apple Selection Committee members assigned to observe Douglas for a day at HPHS learned she was more than a champion of inclusion in a school setting.

“Sarah,” the joint statement points out, “fosters (inclusion) in a way that helps students accept it as the norm. Her level of care for her students reaches beyond the classroom; she encourages and sets an example.”

A parent lauded Douglas for having forged “new pathways” for other general education teachers to increase inclusion measures.

The former Division-I college athlete who drove in runs with her bat proved valuable for driver’s education students at HPHS, applying for, and receiving, a grant for a special driving simulator. The “safety” in traffic safety spurred her to seek the funding in 2023.

“Not all students get to practice driving at home, perhaps because their parents work,” says Douglas, who’s also an adjunct professor at the University of St. Francis in Joliet, teaching a course for educators who want to add the “driver’s education teacher” hat to their figurative headwear.

If Douglas were able to turn her Golden Apple statuette into scores of slices, she probably would. And she’d hand them to all of the influential teachers in her life, many of whom are not certified to instruct.

“My parents are phenomenal,” Douglas says. “I will always be thankful for what they taught me while I was growing up. My dad was my softball coach. He had a calm demeanor as a coach; he still has a calm demeanor. My mom was the biggest fan and biggest supporter at my games. She respects all people for who they are. And every coach and teacher and colleague I’ve been around has inspired me to be better in education.

“I’ve learned so much from so many, including my students,” she adds. “My students have taught me how important it is to have resilience inside and outside the classroom.”

The Highland Park Community Foundation improves lives and enriches the Highland Park-Highwood community as a whole. Through grant funding, the foundation strengthens families, supports individuals with disabilities, nurtures children, assists older adults, develops skills in teens, enhances artistic experiences, and more. For more information, visit hpcfil.org.

Do you know a great teacher in grades 6-8? Click the link below and nominate one for the Highland Park Community Foundation’s 2025 Golden Apple Award. https://www.hpcfil.org/awards/2025-hpcf-golden-apple-award-nomination-form/