Teachers Surprised With 'Milken Educator Awards' At School Assemblies

Since 1987, the Milken Educator Awards have honored K-12 teachers across the nation. The award is given annually to over 50 dedicated teachers. Each winner receives a $25,000 award.

The awards are announced each fall in a unique way -- by surprising teachers at their school assemblies.

This week, awards have begun to be given out to local teachers across the country.

WHNT News reports Dogwood Elementary's Ashley Kear was surprised with her $25,000 check during a school assembly on Monday. The Tennessee teacher told reporters she plans to use a portion of the money to purchase supplies for her classroom.

Heather O'Leary, an elementary school teacher in Schenectady, N.Y., received a similar surprise at a recent school assembly.

The Daily Gazette reports O'Leary was given a 2010 Milken Educator Award in recognition of her extraordinary work teaching English to disabled students from Afghanistan. She is also known for going above and beyond -- planning unique field trips for her students, which she pays for out of pocket.

Comments

[rtolmach]

06:28 PM on 10/11/2010

Teachers shouldn't have to spend their own money on classroom resources.

Now there's a solution.

A new nonprofit, http://ClassWish.org makes it easy for teachers to create Wish Lists of the things they need. Visitors see exactly what is needed and contribute to help. Many companies match employee donations, which can double their funding.

See how easy it is to help your favorite teacher and students at http://ClassWish.org

[Christopher Bowen]

11:44 AM on 10/06/2010

The awards are great and I have no doubt the people receiving them are more than worthy and quite selfless a lot of the time. Congratulations are definitely in order. However, this does nothing systemically. No talented young adult will now dive into education careers because of these kinds of awards. And, no child will necessarily get a better education based on this kind of recognition. What about awards that specifically target teaching methods and philosophies that have lead to tangible, continual results? How about larger awards for best practices that help bridge the achievement gap? I think we should give out the big bucks for teaching that can be modeled by other educators and make a difference across the country.

Chris Bowen
Author of "Our Kids: Building Relationships in the Classroom"

[berserk]

07:48 AM on 10/06/2010

I think its great.

[emmanuel goldstein]

05:16 PM on 10/05/2010

Occasional awards are nice, but higher salaries would be much better. I don't watch professional sports, for many reasons, but one is their pay and their glorification over teachers. No football player is worth more than a K-12 teacher.

[Decorina]

02:57 PM on 10/11/2010

Or baseball players, or hockey players...

Fanned.