Montezuma teacher recognized with WHO 13 Golden Apple honor

​     Kelly Kaup, right, the vocal music teacher at Montezuma, was recently honored with the WHO 13 Golden Apple award for her efforts to connect with her students and build confidence in them through music and acting. She is shown with, from left, Easton Hudnut, Gracie Wilson and Owen Desrochers, a senior who nominated Kaup for the honor. 

By J.O. Parker and Calyn Thompson
 
       A vocal teacher is helping students find their confidence through the power of music. 
       Kelly Kaup spends the school day teaching students how to sing.
     “It’s more fun than when I performed,” Kaup said. “It is so fun to watch them, and you kind of feel like a mama bear. Like, oh, I helped do this a little bit by helping them find their voice.”
      “We are here to tell a story. No matter if we’re singing a song or playing it in band, we’re telling a story the way that we’re doing it,” Kaup said, “and it’s our job to communicate that. And I think that if we look at the arts, they make stronger communicators. Our kids build confidence to learn who they are. Even if they don’t do theater or they never sing or play an instrument again, they build that confidence that they can come into a room and know this is who I am and I’m worth something.”
      Believe it or not, this is only Kaup’s second year teaching vocal music at Montezuma. A role that came about after several years of coaching speech and directing the musical. As of this school year, Kaup has been coaching speech and directing the musicals at Montezuma for 6 years, two of which have been since joining the school staff.
     And it all came about after a chance meeting with Dianne Singleton, a now former resident of Montezuma, who introduced Kaup, who has a seasoned background in theater and directing, to Liesl Roorda, a speech coach and musical director, who quickly found a place for her at the school.
      “I had never experienced anything like Iowa speech before. When I started, it took a couple of years to really understand what it all was about because of the fact that we weren't having festivals, and contest looked very different due to COVID.”
        Kaup dug in and learned the ropes and is making difference in young people’s lives.
     “She grew our speech and drama program year by year and then continued to build relationships with kids through subbing,” said Kelly O’Rourke, PK-8 principal at Montezuma. “And then when we had an opening here, I kind of approached her with an idea.”
       “Mr. O’Rourke kept saying, ‘Why don’t you be our teacher? Why don’t you be our music teacher?’ And I kept making excuses, but I don’t have teaching certification,” Kaup said.  “So he found another alternative license for me. And so, I finally said, ‘Alright, let’s give it a try.’ And I was a little nervous about it. I wasn’t sure I was going to do well with it. But last year was my first year in K through 12, and it was awesome. It was so good to see those relationships and start building them when they’re little and then taking it out of the classroom into theater and speech.”
     “I was a little ornery little guy when she first met me, and I didn’t have a lot of good people that believed in me, I guess,” Owen Desrochers, a senior at Montezuma, said. “And she was one of those people. She believed in me.”
       This meaningful impact led Owen to nominate Kaup for the Golden Apple.
      “Wow, I really don’t know what to say,” Kaup said after receiving the award. “I absolutely love this school and thank you for giving me a chance to be your teacher and to love on you.”
“Just being able to see them work through struggles and find their confidence and find their voice and find things that they take pride in,” Kaup said, “it’s so worth it. It’s so worth it.”