Furnace Woods Teacher Surprised with Golden Apple Award

As colleagues slipped into her classroom, Keli Leonardo first thought nothing of it. To see Principal Josh Cohen or Lisa Schuchman, Hendrick Hudson’s Executive Director of Pupil Personnel Services, was not an uncommon occurrence. But then came a few others, and, suddenly, in followed her husband and three children.

“When I saw them, I thought, ‘Oh my!’” Mrs. Leonardo said. “I got emotional.”

Family members and many others were on hand Tuesday, June 11, when a representative from WHUD 100.7 presented Mrs. Leonardo with a Golden Apple Award, recognition given to the station’s Teacher of the Month.

She was nominated by teaching assistant Debbie Kraemer, who praised Leonardo for “giving her all” to her students.

“She’s just a fantastic teacher,” Ms. Kraemer said. “She gives her heart and soul to everything she does.”

Mrs. Leonardo, who is now in her 10th year in Hendrick Hudson, teaches a class of nine fourth and fifth-grade students at Furnace Woods Elementary School. She said her purpose is to build strong relationships with her students.

“I feel that you have to get to know your students and form strong relationships with them first,” Mrs. Leonardo said. “They are people first. I really put my heart into that.”

Mrs. Leonardo was joined by her husband, Todd, a teacher in the district, and their three children; Mr. Cohen and Ms. Schuchman; Board of Education trustees Tomica Dietrich and Erica Mills; and several Furnace Woods colleagues.

“I appreciate her daily efforts to help every student and family in her class, to collaborate with her colleagues, and her willingness to help students and teachers from other classes as well,” Mr. Cohen said. “I thank her for her hard work and the terrific energy she brings to Furnace Woods!”