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Milken Family Foundation Surprises Elgin Teacher with $25,000 Milken Educator Award

Illinois Superintendent of Education Dr. Christopher Koch joined in the presentation of an “Oscar of Teaching” to Melissa Leisner of Prairie Knolls Middle School

November 19, 2013

When Melissa Leisner, a seventh-grade language arts teacher at Prairie Knolls Middle School in Elgin, Illinois,  attended a seemingly routine schoolwide assembly, she had no idea that she was about to experience the surprise of a lifetime.  In front of cheering students, colleagues and invited guests, Leisner heard her name announced as a 2013 Milken Educator Award winner. She was greeted with a fanfare typically reserved for all-star athletes and award-winning entertainers.

The honor, which includes an unrestricted cash prize of $25,000, was dubbed “The Oscars of Teaching,” by Teacher Magazine. Joining Illinois Superintendent of Education Dr. Christopher Koch to present the state’s 2013 Milken Educator Award was Dr. Jane Foley, senior vice president, Milken Educator Awards. This prestigious Award will be bestowed upon up to 40 of the most exceptional educators across the country and Leisner is the only teacher in Illinois to be honored as a 2013 Milken Educator Award recipient.

“Our public education system is at the heart of America’s promise and essential to safeguarding the American dream for future generations,” said Lowell Milken, chairman and co-founder of the Milken Family Foundation.  “With research confirming that effective teachers represent the single most important school-related factor in raising student achievement, it is important to honor them, learn from them, and inspire more capable people to enter the profession.  As the program’s motto extols, the future belongs to the educated.”

About the Award Recipient

Melissa Leisner loves Language Arts and sharing her contagious passion with her seventh-grader students and colleagues at Prairie Knolls Middle School in Elgin, IL. Constantly creating fresh, exciting lessons and seeking students' opinions on new approaches; Leisner's classroom is "a culture of student engagement, collaboration, high expectations and fun," in the words of one admirer.

It’s easy to see why kids are often heard talking excitedly about her class; by tailoring the reading to their interests she instills a sense of confidence and ownership even in struggling learners. One student proudly shared with Leisner that he'd read three books over the summer—a great accomplishment considering that he had never finished a novel prior to taking her class. She makes a point of getting to know her students as individuals, too, assessing their prior knowledge and building from there. Leisner even attends students’ out-of-school activities and her interest in students continues well after they've moved on. 

Leisner's efforts have paid off in test scores. Overall, 65% of her students reach the mid-high to high level of achievement as measured by NWEA-MAP testing. Her "YA Café," in which staff come to read a book aloud and discuss it with the students, became a permanent program handled by the school’s library media specialist. She's even persuaded the entire staff to post signs on their doors announcing what they're currently reading, sparking conversations with students.

A lifelong learner herself, Leisner has completed two master's programs and is contemplating a doctorate. When she shared her graduate research on verse novels—a genre she'd previously avoided—with her seventh graders, the experience turned into a presentation used to train local teachers and then into invitations to present at the Illinois Reading Council Conference and the Arkansas Reading Association Conference.

Adults are caught up in her enthusiasm, too. Leisner started a book club of language arts teachers; they read from a professional book and discuss how to use the ideas in their classrooms. She is a generous mentor and welcomes student teachers to observe her classes. Leisner is known for her energetic and persuasive leadership on numerous committees, including the district's language arts curriculum team, where she has been instrumental in writing curriculum and assessments and articulating needs for her grade level in reading, writing, speaking and listening. Though she is modest about her accomplishments, peers see Melissa Leisner as an expert and an inspiration to be better educators. 

Details

The Milken Educator Awards, conceived by Lowell Milken to attract, retain and motivate outstanding talent to the teaching profession, is the nation’s preeminent teacher recognition program. Since 1987, the Milken Family Foundation, co-founded by Michael and Lowell Milken, has devoted more than $136 million in funding to the Milken Educator Awards, including over $64 million in individual Awards to nearly 2,600 recipients plus powerful professional development opportunities and networking with leading education stakeholders.

Illinois Milken Educators

Illinois joined the Milken Educator Awards program in 1988.
$2,750,000 cash awards presented to 109 Illinois Milken Educator Award recipients.

For More Information

Milken Educator Awards Website: www.MilkenEducatorAwards.org
Illinois Department of Education Website: http://www.isbe.state.il.us/
Central CUSD 301 Website:  http://www.burlington.k12.il.us/
Milken Family Foundation Website: www.mff.org
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For more information, visit our Media Kit page.

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Education reform leader Lowell Milken created the Milken Educator Awards to recognize exemplary teachers and established the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET) to generate more talented teachers, www.niet.org. NIET operates TAP: The System for Teacher and Student Advancement and the Best Practices Center. Lowell Milken recently provided the founding gift for the UCLA School of Law’s Lowell Milken Institute for Business Law and Policy. For more information about Lowell visit www.lowellmilken.com.

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