The lessons Sharon Ponder-Ballard ’86 learned as a political science major at Illinois State University helped to mold her into a powerful educator who would go on to win the prestigious 2022 Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching at Chicago’s Englewood STEM High School this past May.
“The Black network of ISU students and faculty truly nurtured my growth as a person and educator,’’ said Ponder-Ballard, who teaches ninth-grade English at the South Side high school and was one of 10 chosen from 400 applicants to win the Golden Apple Award.
“I had friends all over campus —Watterson Towers, Atkin-Colby, Tri Towers —and some who lived off campus. We studied together, attended IYC services, football games, and partied at the Bone Student Center. I also participated in Students Against Apartheid and the Black Student Union. The comradery and interaction were organic and life-altering.”
Among those who impacted her life were the women of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. Her soror Dr. Gloria Jeanne Davis served as advisor to the Eta Alpha chapter at Illinois State.
“Dr. Gloria Jeanne Davis served as the University’s assistant to the dean for Minority Recruitment and director of Affirmative Action, and was an exemplary role model for us young Black women.”
As a product of Chicago’s South Side, Ponder-Ballard strives to be a model for the young men and women she teaches. Reflecting on the lack of resources and educational disparities she saw as a Chicago Public Schools (CPS) student in the ’80s, Ponder-Ballard says the persisting conditions fuel her passion to make a difference.
As an Illinois State student, Ponder-Ballard desired to make a difference through policy change in education. She recalled one inspiring professor who also served as chair for the Department of Politics and Government, Dr. Hibbert Roberts.
“I popped into his office on a weekly basis and our discussions were centered around the politics of education in America and the school-to prison-pipeline,” said Ponder-Ballard, who at the time planned to follow her siblings into the field of law.
However, while she was studying for the LSAT, Ponder-Ballard took a job as a CPS substitute teacher. “And that was it,” she said with a chuckle. “I was hooked.”
More than 20 years later Ponder-Ballard still infuses her lesson plans with passion and purpose reflecting the University’s motto, “Gladly we learn and teach.”
According to the Golden Apple Foundation—the leading nonprofit that prepares, honors, and supports educators—Ponder-Ballard sets herself apart by engaging with the larger community, connecting with the parents of students as well as local organizations to help inform her course units and class topics.
As a distinguished fellow in the Yale University National Initiative, Ponder-Ballard strengthens her teaching methods by focusing on a curriculum that allows her to connect with students in traditionally underserved and underrepresented communities. She encourages students to research issues that interest and impact them and to read books not often found on the traditional CPS reading list such as The Hate U Give versus The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, to help students navigate their world from a more contemporary lens. She is also Nationally Board Certified, which requires her to reflect on her practice consistently.
Outside of class, she sponsors several clubs and initiatives, including Lashes, Lipstick and Loving Ourselves Out Loud, which is dedicated to uplifting women and those who identify as females to express themselves through writing and spoken word. “This is my way of giving back,’’ Ponder-Ballard said.
During the Golden Apple presentation, Ponder-Ballard predicted the highly sought award would also change the trajectory of lives at Englewood STEM.
“This award validates marginalized communities by motivating a generation to no longer have dreams that are the size of peepholes, but to have dreams should be bigger than the door; Englewood Stem this Golden Apple is yours,” said Ponder-Ballard, adorned in gold glitter from her eyelashes to her fingernails.
“This is a reminder,’’ she said to a cheering crowd of Englewood STEM Panthers. “Your situation does not have to determine your destination,’’ echoing the uncompromising insistence of her mother decades ago.
After delighting the assembly with an animated dance—the “Griddy”—to celebrate the Golden Apple honor, she embraced her students and reminded each of them that their dreams are within reach. It was a lesson born of adverse circumstances.
While a junior at Dunbar Vocational High School, Ponder-Ballard and her family of nine were left homeless by an apartment fire.
“We were at the Roberts Motel on 63rd and King Drive. Our first morning in the motel, my mom woke us up telling us to get ready for school. I reminded my mom that we were just burnt out of our apartment, and she quickly replied that we still had our health and that our situation was not our destination. She said that we were going places through education and that we were obligated to help others.”
Ponder-Ballard is now positioned to impact the lives of the next generation as a Golden Apple recipient, which comes with a $5,000 cash award and a spring sabbatical to study at Northwestern University.
“I want to continue being a beacon of light and hope for young people and those new to the teaching profession. I’m really honored to demonstrate that seasoned teachers are still making an impact in the classroom. This award shows we are adaptable, flexible, and are brilliantly committed to doing the work of educating our youth.”
