The focus is not on where they have been, but where they are going in their futures.

No longer is it enough to teach reading, writing and arithmetic.

“I’ve never had a teacher care so much or have such a profound impact on my life,” wrote one of the students that nominated Ward for the Golden Apple.

"In the end, I appreciate all they do for me. I love them, I really do. They are the best,” Johnson said about her students.

The connections she makes with her students run deep, so deep, in fact, it compelled a parent to nominate her for the Golden Apple Award.

After years of teaching in Wisconsin, Balza came back to New Ulm, ultimately ending up at St. Paul's Lutheran Elementary School, the same building where she student taught.