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Milken National Educator Awards Surprise America's Best Teachers with $25,000 Salute

September 15, 2006

MILKEN NATIONAL EDUCATOR AWARDS SURPRISE AMERICA'S BEST TEACHERS WITH $25,000 SALUTE

Milken Family Foundation's 20th Anniversary Awards Tour
crisscrosses the country to herald elementary education's finest

 

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (Sept. 15) — For some leading educators, the three "R"s will soon mean Recognition, Respect and a gigantic Reward!

To honor the important roles talented teachers play in improving student achievement, the Milken Family Foundation will go coast-to-coast on its 20th Anniversary Awards Tour to reward the newest Milken National Educator Award recipients with $25,000 cash prizes. Up to 100 outstanding elementary educators will learn the news of their Awards—which can be used any way they choose—during surprise schoolwide assemblies packed with proud students, colleagues, dignitaries and media.

Called the "Oscars of Teaching" by Teacher Magazine, the Milken National Educator Awards were created by Milken Family Foundation Chairman and Co-Founder Lowell Milken to celebrate, elevate and activate the highest caliber professionals in our nation's schools.

"Good teachers are the linchpin in our education system playing a critical role in propelling student learning," said Lowell Milken. "Every child deserves to be in a classroom with a teacher who inspires, illustrates and advances excellence. It's imperative that as a nation we recognize the importance of outstanding teachers and encourage young, talented people to choose teaching as a career."

Active in 48 states and the District of Columbia, the Milken Educator Awards have grown to become the nation's largest teacher recognition program. Since 1987, over $56 million has been awarded to more than 2,200 educators. New recipients will join the Milken Educator Network, a rich resource of educators and other influential leaders accessible to fellow teachers, legislators, school boards and others who are shaping the future of education.

Research shows that having a talented teacher in the classroom is the most important school-based factor impacting student achievement. In a single school year, the difference between an effective and an ineffective teacher can be a full grade level of student achievement.

Award Criteria

Unlike most teaching awards, the Milken Educator Awards have no formal nomination or application process. Educators are recommended for this prestigious honor without their knowledge by a blue-ribbon panel appointed by each state's department of education.

Candidates for the Milken Educator Awards are selected on the basis of the following criteria:

 

• Exceptional educational talent as evidenced by effective instructional practices and student learning results in the classroom and school;

   

• Exemplary educational accomplishments beyond the classroom that provide models of excellence for the profession;

   

• Strong long-range potential for professional and policy leadership; and

   

• Engaging and inspiring presence that motivates and impacts students, colleagues and the community.

This spring, recipients will receive their $25,000 checks at an inspiring awards ceremony held during the Milken National Education Conference in Los Angeles, California.

For more information about the Milken Educator Awards and the surprise notification events held throughout the United States, please contact the Milken Family Foundation at (310) 570-4775 or visit www.mff.org.

Lowell Milken has been an education reform pioneer for more than two decades. In addition to creating the Milken Educator Awards to recognize teacher talent, he established the Teacher Advancement Program (TAP) as a complementary initiative to develop more high-quality teachers through research-based, comprehensive reform. The Teacher Advancement Program has expanded to over 130 campuses since its inception in 1999, impacting more than 60,000 students and 4,000 teachers. In 2006, the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching was established to operate TAP and a Teacher Quality Best Practices Center.

 

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