Press Releases All Press Releases
2024•
2023•
2022•
2021
Read All About It: Pawtucket, Rhode Island, English Teacher Wins $25,000 Milken Educator Award
October 14, 2015
SANTA MONICA, CA – In a surprise ceremony this morning at Samuel Slater Junior High School in Pawtucket, English teacher Kendra Borden was named the Rhode Island winner of a 2015 Milken Educator Award.
The award, from the Milken Family Foundation (MFF), carries an unrestricted cash award of $25,000. Borden is the only Rhode Island educator to receive the award for the 2015-16 school year, and among up to 40 who will be presented with the prestigious honor during MFF’s coast-to-coast tour across the country.
“In Rhode Island, we have some of the best teachers and principals in America,” said Governor Gina M. Raimondo. “Just last week, Cumberland High School Principal Alan Tenreiro was named National Principal of the Year, and today’s selection of Kendra Borden as winner of a Milken Educator Award is further recognition of some of the great teaching and learning that takes place in our schools every day. Educators like Alan and Kendra work hard to provide our students with the knowledge and skills they will need to succeed in college and in challenging careers. I congratulate Kendra Borden on her receiving this significant honor.”
“I want to congratulate Kendra on this prestigious honor, and thank her for the vital work she does in the classroom every day,” said Lieutenant Governor Daniel J. McKee. “Having excellent and inspiring educators in every class in every school is a critical part of transforming public education in Rhode Island and preparing all of our students for lifelong success.”
“I am very pleased that the Milken Family Foundation has honored a great teacher who has dedicated herself to working in a middle school in an urban setting,” said Barbara S. Cottam, Chair of the Board of Education. “Kendra Borden has been a positive influence on her students, her fellow teachers, and her community, and this award recognizes the excellence she brings to the teaching profession and to the classroom every day. Congratulations to Mrs. Borden—and thank you to the Milken Family Foundation.”
“Kendra Borden’s colleagues describe her as an amazing teacher of English Language Arts and writing who is invested in kids and in the teaching profession,” said Daniel P. McConaghy, chair of the Council on Elementary and Secondary Education. “It’s great to see this national recognition of the work Mrs. Borden has accomplished in Pawtucket. Her work, and this Milken Award, will inspire others to achieve excellence.”
“In her seven years in the teaching profession, Kendra Borden has earned respect and admiration from her colleagues and from her students,” said Ken Wagner, Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education. “This award she has received today, along with the Blue Ribbon recently awarded to the Francis J. Varieur School, shows that there’s good work going on in the Pawtucket schools. Congratulations to Pawtucket educators, particularly to Kendra Borden, on your commitment to great teaching and learning.”
“We are thrilled to present Kendra Borden with the Milken Educator Award for Rhode Island,” said Dr. Jane Foley, senior vice president of the Milken Educator Awards. “After a 14-year career in the business world, Borden knows the value of forming connections. Her collaborative approach to success translates seamlessly into the classroom, where she sparks lively discussions, personalizes learning and creates a culture of continuous feedback and improvement. As a writing wiz, Borden has authored curriculum and presentations that have had an impact on student learning throughout the district and state. We look forward to welcoming her into the Milken Educator Network and supporting her future goals in the teaching profession.”
Borden, who teaches seventh grade, believes in the motto, “Those doing the talking are doing the learning.” Committed to collaborative learning, she ensures that her students develop the skills to participate in group discussions through dialogue, relaxed seating arrangements and active listening. Strategies she uses include the Socratic seminar, jigsaw and graphic organizers.
Her positive rapport with students is built by nurturing relationships with them through consistent feedback, recognition of achievement and the use of effective personalized instruction. Borden’s techniques are so impactful that students and parents often request her as their teacher or advisor.
Through formative assessments of student learning, layered curriculum and independent reading, Borden drives classroom instruction to meet the needs of each student. These practices, in addition to her process of identifying current proficiency and establishing goals for improvement, have led to notable gains in student achievement.
In a school where 88 percent of the student body is on a free and reduced-price lunch program, Borden’s students made a 47-point gain in scaled reading scores last year. Schoolwide, writing scores increased by 14% during Borden’s two-year leadership with the school’s writing curriculum committee.
In addition to her role on the writing committee, Borden serves on the School Improvement Team and Professional Learning Community (PLC) Writing Team, facilitates the Positive intervention and Support (PBIS) Team, and is the credit recovery coordinator.
Her leadership extends to the district and state as well. She is co-author of the Pawtucket School Department Seventh Grade Writing Curriculum, presents her work to teachers in the district, and represents the district on the Common Core State Standards Curriculum Writing Team.
Borden holds a double Bachelor of Arts in secondary education and English from Rhode Island College, which she received in 2007.
The Milken Educator Awards program, which was launched by the Milken Family Foundation in 1987, has been described as “the Oscars of teaching” by Teacher magazine. Recipients are selected in early to mid-career for what they have achieved and for the promise of what they will accomplish. Many have gone on to earn advanced degrees and be placed in prominent posts and on state and national education committees.
Alternating yearly between elementary and secondary educators, the Milken 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.
This year, MFF is launching a #MyTeacherRocks Instagram campaign that encourages students to take selfies with their favorite teacher and describe in the caption why their teacher is special. To enter the contest, entrants are asked to follow @MilkenFamilyFdn on Instagram, post their selfie to their individual account and use the #MyTeacherRocks and #MilkenAward hashtags. The three photos with the most “likes” will be selected in November 2015, and February and April 2016.
To get regular updates on the surprise Milken Educator Award events, follow and use the #MilkenAward hashtag on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
For more information about the Milken Educator Awards, visit www.MilkenEducatorAwards.org or call MFF at (310) 570-4772.
The Milken Educator Awards tour is on social media at:
https://instagram.com/milkenfamilyfdn
www.facebook.com/milkeneducatorawards
The Milken Educator Awards, created by the Milken Family Foundation, were 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.