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America's Top Teachers Go to the Head of the Class with Surprise $25,000 Milken Educator Awards

Milken Family Foundation tours the country to bestow national awards and up to $2 million in cash prizes to preeminent elementary educators

September 15, 2008

Sept. 15, 2008 (Santa Monica, Calif.) – Little do they know, but up to 80 of America's elementary educators are about to be surprised with one of education's most prestigious and lucrative national honors, the $25,000 Milken Educator Award. This year marks the 22nd year the Milken Family Foundation (MFF) will travel across the country to recognize and reward excellence in education with public acclaim and up to $2 million in unrestricted cash prizes.

Hailed as "the Oscars of teaching" by Teacher Magazine, the Milken Educator Awards were conceived by Lowell Milken, Foundation chairman and co-founder, to recognize the importance of outstanding educators and encourage talented young people to enter teaching. Unlike most teaching awards, the Milken Educator Awards have no formal nomination or application process. Each year exceptional teachers, principals and specialists—recommended without their knowledge by a blue-ribbon panel appointed by each state's department of education—are stunned with the news of their awards. The announcements are made during surprise schoolwide assemblies overflowing with cheering students, proud colleagues, and a host of dignitaries and media.

"Nothing in America's K-12 schools has more influence on student learning than the quality of the classroom teacher," said Lowell Milken. "Highly effective teachers are the bedrock in constructing a world-class education system that meets our challenges and opportunities in this 21st century. It is a national imperative that we attract, retain and motivate people of talent to the profession. America's prosperity depends on it."

Polls indicate that education is a leading issue for Americans. Yet research shows that our students are in danger of not keeping pace in today's competitive global economy. Almost a quarter of our nation's population is functionally illiterate and in many impoverished areas that number spikes much higher. "The future belongs to the educated," the theme of the Milken Educator Awards, serves as a clarion call to America's task at hand.

The recipients are honored in early to mid-career for what they have achieved and for the promise of what they will accomplish. From coast-to-coast, Milken Educators point to their Award as a pivotal professional milestone. "I move forward in my career with a renewed energy and vision for excellence," shared a recent honoree. Another offered, "One year later, I have yet to 'come down' from the honor of my life. You will never know how much the Award has changed my life."

This year's honorees will propel the ranks of recipients to more than 2,300 with financial prizes topping $60 million. Established in 1985, the Award alternates yearly between elementary and secondary educators. The 2008 recipients will receive their $25,000 checks during the Milken National Education Conference held April 17-19 in Los Angeles. They will also join the Milken Educator Network, a group of distinguished educators, whose expertise serves as a valuable resource to fellow educators, legislators, school boards and others shaping the future of education.

Award Criteria:

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.

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. Also check out the Web site to follow news from the road through the Foundation's National Notifications blog, Facebook and Twitter.

Lowell Milken has been an education reform leader for three 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 highly effective teachers through comprehensive, research-based reform. TAP has expanded dramatically since its launch in 1999, now impacting 72,000 students and 6,200 teachers. In 2005 Lowell established the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching, an independent public charity to operate TAP with the goal of a quality teacher for every classroom in America.

 

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