Three more teachers will be honored today with a prestigious local award for excellence in teaching. Third-grade teacher Maria Hernandez of Irma Ruiz School in Chicago was in class Tuesday when she found out she won.

Ten teachers from the Chicago area are honored with the Golden Apple Award annually. The custom is to surprise them in their classrooms.

HERNANDEZ: Oh my god! (kids cheer)

In 24 years, just 7 awards have gone to bilingual teachers like Hernandez.

HERNANDEZ: Boys and girls, this is about you.

There’s a shortage of bilingual teachers in Illinois. The state brings teachers from Mexico and Spain to try to fill the gap. The students at Ruiz are nearly all Latino, and most are low income. Studies have shown that these are the sorts of kids who are often shortchanged when it comes to getting the best teachers. That’s not the case for these third-graders. 

HERNANDEZ: My loves, this does not let you off the hook. We still need to learn about the names of the bones, in Spanish and in English.