Milken Award honors Wisconsin educators

Teachers from schools in Colby and Milwaukee received $25,000 awards from State Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster in surprise all-school assemblies this month as they were named 2006 Milken National Educators.

Andrea Payan, a fifth-grade teacher at Morgandale Elementary School in Milwaukee, and Michele Stewart, a fifth-grade teacher at Colby Middle School, were selected as Milken National Educators by a blue-ribbon panel facilitated by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. The award programs were held on October 19 and 24 as part of the Milken Family Foundation’s 20th Anniversary Awards tour.

Michele Stewart Andrea Payan

“Milken Educator Awards generously reward and encourage exceptional educational talent,” Burmaster said. “These teachers focus on student learning and success. It is a great honor to join the Milken Foundation in recognizing them at a national level as being exactly what good teachers should be.”

Burmaster also commended the Milken National Educator Award Program for acknowledging the importance of quality educators to student achievement and for the potential the Milken National Educator program has to inspire young people to consider education as a career. “Research repeatedly shows that the single most important school-based factor in student achievement is the quality of the teacher in the classroom. Attracting dedicated young people to the profession is vital to Wisconsin’s mission to close the achievement gap and ensure a quality education for every child,” Burmaster added.

Recipients of the Milken Educator Awards are selected on the basis of numerous criteria, including exceptional educational talent as demonstrated 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 an engaging and inspiring presence that motivates and impacts students, colleagues, and the community.

The Milken Family Foundation National Educator Awards were created to celebrate, elevate, and activate the highest caliber professionals to our nation’s schools. The Milken Family Foundation National Educator Awards Program, dubbed the “Oscars of Teaching” by Teacher Magazine, is the largest educator awards program in the nation. For more information, visit the Milken Family Foundation website at http://www.mff.org.

Last updated on 10/30/2006