Mr. Brian Forget was going to be an architect. Mr. Timothy Coyle was going to be a lawyer. Now, each of them finds themselves with 25 years of teaching at Triton behind them.

 Forget had intended to go to school to be an architect after taking several drawing tech classes in High School.

 “I realized after I spent a summer with an architect, that they spend 80 percent of their time fighting with people …  It wasn’t something I wanted to do,” said Forget. Today, Forget is the superintendent of the Triton District. However, he began his career as a student teacher at Pine Grove School. 

In both the middle and high school, there are 5 “Golden Apples,” and 13 total in the district. “This is the largest batch we have had in a while,” said Forget. 

A Golden Apple Award is given to a faculty member after they have been working in the Triton Regional School District for 25 years. The physical trophy is a fake apple painted gold. However, Forget said the school was considering changing the award in years to come. This award recognizes the experienced teachers of Triton, and shines a light on their dedication to the school.

Mrs. Nancy Tsakirgis, a social worker in the middle school, decided to work with adolescents because she wanted to help them. “Like many clinical social workers, there was something in your childhood that impacted you, and the way I dealt with it helped me realize that I had that skill … I knew in high school” she said. 

This is unlike Coyle, a history teacher, who had planned on going to law school. He was a legal assistant in both Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., beginning to get ready for law school. However, the lawyers he was working with were constantly complaining about how they were always traveling and they had no time for their families. “When I was a kid, my dad moved around a lot, and that put a lot of pressure on my mom,” Coyle said. 

Now that they have 25 years in the Triton District, they don’t regret their choice. Each “Apple” commented on how their favorite aspect of the Triton Community are the people. 

They all commented on how some of their most memorable experiences in Triton are because of the people they work with. 

“All the folks here are really nice,” Ms. Fredia Boyle, an Instructional Assistant, said. 

Her thoughts echo those who have also been at Triton for an extended amount of time. Each Apple praised the community aspect of the District. Tskakirgis fondly remembers the student vs staff volleyball game fundraiser, as well as a staff sing-a-long at the annual Winter Concert. However her favorite memory is watching “students that were going to quit, graduate,” she said with a smile. 

A lot can change in two and a half decades. Coyle remembers some significant physical changes, like the remodeling of Triton, as well as the current renovation at PGS. However, he commented that while the students of Triton have physically changed, their mindsets and determination haven’t. “I don’t think that kids and their expectations and their behaviors in school change all that much,” Coyle said. 

Boyle agrees, commenting on how all of her “youngsters” stay relatively the same each year. 

The “Golden Apples” of Triton are a valuable asset of the Triton Community. Most teachers work an average of 14 years, according to NEAtoday.com. This group of teachers has overcome this national average. 

“I love what I do,” said Tsakirgis. “I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else.”