Applicants are invited to share their connection to values, ideas, or issues important to Karen.
NOTE: The application link above may only be accessible to students and staff of Glenbrook North High School.
Interested GBN students will choose to respond to one of the following essay questions:
1. Karen Cunningham dedicated her life to making GBN a place where all felt welcome and valued. If you had the power to affect change at GBN, what specific action(s) would you recommend to make it a more equitable and inclusive place?
2. As a teacher for over thirty years, Karen Cunningham shaped the curriculum to offer students opportunities to reflect deeply on their own learning and to share their insights with others. Identify a meaningful experience you’ve had with the GBN English curriculum. This experience could be a project, a writing assignment, or a text you read. Reflect on how the experience has shaped you.
3. Three of Karen Cunningham’s core values as a teacher were a commitment to anti-racist education; a belief in the power of literature to develop empathy and understanding; and an obligation to give back to the community. How do you embody one of these core values?
Memories of Karen
“On Karen’s last day in this world, she wore a bright pink T-shirt that read, in bold letters, “in a world where you can be anything, be kind”. Karen, more than anything, was kind. This was the essential quality that defined her life, and all her relationships. To be with her was to know a rare kind of comfort – you were immediately at ease, always safe to just be yourself.”
— Linda, GBN/life-long friend
“Karen was easily distracted by the small miracles of life, pausing our chats to narrate some nearby interaction between her beloved birds and a playful squirrel or describing to me in with excitement and wonder how something in her garden had begun to bloom, in the process reminding me to treasure these small marvels, as well.”
— Heidi, college/life-long friend
“As her students repeatedly articulated, Karen was GENUINE, KIND, and CARING with everyone. These traits extended beyond the classroom, which resulted in Karen making strong connections with people throughout the building. She cared about them, and they cared about her. She took a genuine interest in each person’s life and people gravitated to her because she was so thoughtful.”
— Jenny, colleague/dear friend
