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Elizabeth Public Schools, New Jersey, Teacher Stunned with $25,000 Milken Educator Award—On Her Birthday!

Engineer-turned-educator Tracy Espiritu receives “Oscar of Teaching” for leadership in science and STEAM

December 08, 2014

SANTA MONICA, CA (December 8, 2014)—It was an out-of-this-world birthday for Elizabeth Public Schools science teacher Tracy Espiritu when she was surprised with a no-strings-attached $25,000 Milken Educator Award before students, fellow colleagues and dignitaries at Dr. Albert Einstein Academy School No. 29 in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Milken Family Foundation Co-Founder Mike Milken, together with First Lady of New Jersey Mary Pat Christie and New Jersey Acting Education Commissioner David C. Hespe, delivered the news.

A high achiever with two master’s degrees, Tracy Espiritu left a lucrative career as a product engineer to become a teacher. While she earlier dreamed of becoming an astronaut, she now puts her energies into making her students and colleagues “stars” of science and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Architecture, and Mathematics) education at Dr. Albert Einstein Academy as well as the newly opened Jerome Dunn Academy No. 9, also in Elizabeth. The STEAM program with the architecture component, as opposed to the national STEAM program incorporating art, is unique to both academies.

Espiritu is one of up to 40 recipients across the country this school year who will be receiving the honor during the 2014-15 season and is the sole recipient in New Jersey. The Milken Award recognizes exemplary elementary and secondary school teachers, principals and specialists who are furthering excellence in education.

“The idea behind these Awards is that everyone likes to hand out prizes to our heroes,” said Mike Milken. “We give Grammys to musicians, gold medals to Olympians, Nobels to scientists and others. But we give too little recognition to the people with society’s most important job—educators. Nothing assures the success of a nation more than education; and nothing assures the quality of education more than dedicated classroom teachers instilling a love of learning and sense of wonder in their students.”

Along with the recognition typically bestowed to recipients, Espiritu now belongs to a network of more than 2,600 K–12 teachers, principals and specialists from around the country.

“The Governor and I congratulate Tracy Espiritu on receiving this incredible honor for excellence in teaching from the Milken Family Foundation,” said First Lady Mary Pat Christie. “Tracy is a true inspiration and role model who has made a difference in the lives of her students and fellow colleagues. She, along with the talented faculty and staff at Einstein Academy, exemplify the best in New Jersey education.”

Espiritu is motivated by her passion for science and a deep desire to help train the next generation of explorers. She is widely respected by students, parents and colleagues for her work ethic, her depth of knowledge, her commitment to every student, and for the academic achievement and delight in learning that her leadership as an educator has produced.

“Tracy Espiritu is an ideal candidate for this award.  She began her career in the private sector and left it for a career in teaching more than 11 years ago. Since that time, she has ably demonstrated her commitment to Elizabeth’s entire education community,” said Acting Education Commissioner David C. Hespe. “We are fortunate in New Jersey to be able to count on teachers such as Tracy to foster our children’s curiosity and inspire them to learn and succeed.”

Espiritu’s impact on Einstein is reflected in marked student achievement growth. Surmounting economic and other challenges, over 80% of Einstein students scored Proficient or Advanced Proficient in math over the last four years, with an average of 25% scoring Advanced Proficient during the same period, in large part due to Espiritu’s efforts in her own classes and throughout the school. To further support student success, she created the afterschool Einstein Astronaut Program for grades 5-8.

In her commitment to the sciences, Espiritu involves parents in the process. She has spearheaded school events like Astronomy Night, the Family Engineering Design Challenge, and even organizing free transportation for family trips to Community Science Nights at Liberty Science Center.

Equally influential is Espiritu’s expertise in supporting and training fellow teachers to be effective STEAM educators. She serves as a mentor and provides ongoing professional development for colleagues in order to advance the use of best practices when teaching STEAM. She is integral in evaluating curriculum and its implementation so that students can demonstrably develop higher-level thinking skills. Espiritu trained other teachers in the methodology and requirements for the Destination Imagination (DI) competition, where students have to present an original solution to a real-world problem, and now her school’s students are placing in the top ten in international DI competition.

Espiritu has forged partnerships with universities and serves as the NASA Explorer School Team Leader. During summers, she has taken fellow educators to JPL, Houston and Kennedy Space Centers.

For photos and video of Espiritu receiving her Milken Educator Award, visit http://www.milkeneducatorawards.org/educators/view/tracy-espiritu.

The Milken Family Foundation first presented the Milken Educator Awards in 1987. Since that time, it has become the nation’s preeminent teacher recognition program and was dubbed the “Oscars of Teaching” by Teacher magazine. Recipients can use their $25,000 award in any way they choose. More than $137 million in funding, including over $65 million in individual $25,000 awards, has been devoted to the overall program, which includes powerful professional development opportunities throughout recipients’ careers. 

In New Jersey, more than 24 recipients have been presented with the Milken Educator Award since the program began there in 2002.

Alternating yearly between elementary and secondary educators, the Awards are sourced through each participating state department of education, which appoints an independent blue ribbon committee to confidentially review candidates for recommendation to MFF. Past recipients have used their Awards to finance their children’s education or their own continuing education. Others have financed dream field trips, established scholarships and even funded the adoption of children.

To get regular updates on notifications, follow the #TeachForTheStars and #MilkenAward hashtags on Twitter and Instagram.

For information about the Milken Educator Awards, visit http://www.milkeneducatorawards.org/newsroom/media-kit or call MFF at (310) 570-4775.  Like the Awards at www.facebook.com/milkeneducatorawards, follow us at www.twitter.com/milken and watch the reaction videos at www.youtube.com/milkenaward.

The Milken Educator Awards program, created by the Milken Family Foundation, was launched in 1987. The Awards provide public recognition and individual financial rewards of $25,000 to elementary and secondary school teachers, principals and specialists from around the country who are furthering excellence in education. Recipients are heralded in early to mid-career for what they have achieved and for the promise of what they will accomplish.

 

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