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Loflin Middle School Teacher Christal Bookhamer Surprised with $25,000 Milken Educator Award
2013 Texas “Oscar of Teaching” Honors Bookhamer’s Accomplishments in Science
December 05, 2013
JOSHUA, TX (December 5, 2013) — Today’s assembly at Loflin Middle School in the Joshua Independent School District in Joshua, Texas, became the surprise of a lifetime for eighth-grade science teacher Christal Bookhamer, when she was named the state’s only recipient of the Milken Educator Award for this year. One of education’s most prestigious recognitions, the Award comes with a no-strings-attached cash prize of $25,000. Bookhamer experienced a fanfare typically reserved for all-star athletes and award-winning entertainers when Milken Family Foundation Co-Founder and Chairman Lowell Milken and Texas Education Commissioner Michael Williams presented her with the honor in front of cheering students and colleagues.
Hailed by Teacher Magazine as the “Oscars of Teaching,” what separates this Award from others is that the recipients have no idea they will be honored. This recognition is not a lifetime achievement award. Recipients are selected in early to mid-career for what they have achieved, and for the promise of what they will accomplish. Encompassed in the recognition is the responsibility for those honored to stretch their professional practices and leadership to even higher levels.
“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. “With research confirming that effective teachers represent the single most important school-related factor in raising student achievement, it is important to honor teachers like Christal, learn from them, and inspire more capable people to enter the profession. As the program’s motto extols, the future belongs to the educated.”
Learning with Christal Bookhamer is an exciting and interactive experience. Sure she dresses up in military fatigues to promote her Science Bootcamp and sings in cadence as she marches around the lunchroom, but for Bookhamer, it’s not just about fun and games. She is serious about learning and improving her students’ academic performance.
The intense two-week Science Bootcamp she holds prior to state testing reinforces scientific concepts. This solid preparation augments classroom learning to produce high-achieving students. In 2012, her students achieved a 99% passing rate on the STAAR Science test. One step ahead of her students, she continuously looks for new ways to motivate and create teaching materials that help develop a love of science, while being aligned with curriculum and state standards. Additionally, Bookhamer works closely with the students in Loflin’s success lab who didn’t do well on the eighth-grade science exam and were retained to improve their high school readiness. While these are not students from her classroom, she is deeply devoted to helping them improve their STAAR scores and move forward with their education.
Bookhamer’s unique and effective teaching style has been showcased as exemplary during district administrator and staff development sessions. She co-presents a workshop called “What’s Your Target?” that reviews college readiness standards and helps instructors make these standards applicable in their classrooms. Moreover, she has presented teaching best practices to Joshua Independent School District’s elementary and middle school in-service days.
While dedicated to classroom teaching, Bookhamer’s personal dedication to professional development is exemplified by her simultaneous pursuit of principal certification. But whatever her role, one thing is crystal clear: Christal Bookhamer will give her all to make school the best possible experience for students, parents, colleagues and administrators.
The Awards story doesn’t end with the surprise notification. New recipients are invited to join the Milken Educator Network, a group of distinguished educators coast to coast whose expertise serves as a valuable resource to fellow educators, legislators, school boards and others shaping the future of education. Since first presented to a dozen California teachers, the program has grown to become the nation’s preeminent teacher recognition program having honored nearly 2,600 K-12 teachers, principals and specialists. More than $136 million in funding, including over $64 million in individual $25,000 awards, has been devoted to the overall program, which includes powerful professional development opportunities throughout recipients’ careers. From local to state to national and even international levels, the exponential impact of Milken Educators strengthens American K-12 education.
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 the Foundation.
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;
- Individuals whose contributions to education are largely unheralded yet worthy of the spotlight;
- Early- to mid-career educators who offer 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, visit www.MilkenEducatorAwards.org or call the Foundation at (310) 570-4775. Follow the Awards on Twitter, Facebook and at YouTube.
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.