Press Releases
Milken Family Foundation Hosts Award-Winning Teachers From Across America at National Education Event in Los Angeles
2011 Milken Educator Forum will honor 53 teachers with $25,000 Awards
April 4, 2011
SANTA MONICA, CA (April 4, 2011) – The 2011 Milken Educator Forum: Milken Educators as Ambassadors for Excellence will celebrate, elevate and activate the newest class of Milken Educator Award recipients and serve as a catalyst to further professional skills. From April 8-10, 2011, this distinguished group of teachers and principals will join veteran colleagues to explore the roles and responsibilities of educators as advocates for students and the excellence in the teaching profession.
“The Forum, presents an important opportunity to unite people of talent and commitment behind strategies that will provide meaningful, sustained improvement in teacher effectiveness and student achievement,” said MFF Chairman and Co-Founder Lowell Milken. “In so doing, we will be able to provide better schools, better communities, and ultimately, better lives for all of America’s children.”
Held in Santa Monica, CA, at the Milken Family Foundation (MFF) headquarters and the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, the event will feature plenary sessions on broad issues, small group discussions, job-alike workshops and the presentation of individual, unrestricted $25,000 financial awards — totaling over $1.3 million — to 53 honorees during a gala Awards Ceremony. Dubbed the "Oscars of Teaching" by Teacher Magazine, the Awards, first presented in 1987, have bestowed over $62 million to 2,500 teachers and are heralded as the nation’s largest teacher recognition program.
Milken Educator Awards Senior Vice President Dr. Jane Foley, herself a 1994 Award recipient from Indiana, shared that an important purpose of the Forum is the exchange of knowledge and expertise. “This year’s recipients will be inducted into our national Milken Educator Network, which is dedicated to reforming and strengthening American K-12 education. The Network fosters effective leadership through state and national activities as its members serve as valuable resources to fellow educators, legislators, school boards and others shaping the future of education.”
Building on the powerful impact of the MEA program in recognizing educator excellence, Lowell Milken, in 1999, launched TAP™: The System for Teacher and Student Advancement to help generate teacher excellence. TAP places the talented teacher front and center in a comprehensive system to attract, develop, motivate and retain effective teachers.
Forum Agenda Friday, April 8, 2011
5:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Orientation and Welcome Dinner, Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, Arcadia Ballroom
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Note:Daytime events held at the Milken Family Foundation, 1250 Fourth St., Santa Monica, CA Evening events held at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, Santa Monica, CA
8:45 – 10:15 a.m. - General Session Panel: TAP: The Solution to Education Reform Moderator: Lowell Milken, Chairman and Co-Founder, Milken Family Foundation; Chairman and Founder, National Institute for Excellence in Teaching and TAP™ Panelists:
Dr. Gary Batsell, AZ ’99, TAP Principal
Dedra Lee-Collins, Texas TAP Executive Master Teacher
Dr. Gary Stark, AR ’01, NIET President and CEO
Shelia Talamo, Louisiana TAP Director
10:30 – 11:45 a.m. - Job-Alike Presentations by new Milken Educators
12:00 – 1:00 p.m. - Luncheon and Keynote Address: Your Role as a Spokesperson for Your Students and Profession, MFF Conference Center
Guest Speaker: Rosey Grier, football legend and Milken Family Foundation Trustee
1:30 – 3:45 p.m. - Veteran Milken Educators Leading the Profession
Norm Conard, KS ‘92 - The Lowell Milken Center: Celebrating Unsung Heroes Who Change the World
Rick Crosslin, IN ‘98 - Science Expeditions
Stephanie Glover, AL ‘08 - Math Leadership Multiplies the Effect
Jane Ching Fung, CA ‘02 - Literacy Throughout the Curriculum, School and Community
4:00 – 4:30 p.m. - Guest Speaker: Baruti Kafele, NJ ‘09: Unleashing the Ambassador in You
6:30 – 7:00 p.m. - Milken Educator Awards Reception, Arcadia Ballroom
7:00 – 9:40 p.m. - Milken Educator Awards Dinner and Ceremony, Arcadia Ballroom
Sunday, April 10, 2011
7:30 – 8:30 a.m. - Breakfast and Presentation: Toward a New American Century
Guest Speaker: Michael Milken, Co-Founder, Milken Family Foundation; Chairman, Milken Institute
8:45 – 10:00 a.m. - General Session Panel: Milken Educator Ambassadors – Roles and Responsibilities
Moderator: Dr. Jane Foley, IN ’94 and Senior Vice President, Milken Educator Awards
Panelists:
Wade Whitehead, VA ’00, Fifth Grade Teacher
Shannon Garrison, CA ’08, Fourth Grade Teacher
Cheryl D. Watkins, IL ’08, Middle School Principal
Dr. Hector Ibarra, IA ’93, Consultant, University of Iowa
10:15 – 11:00 a.m. - Forum Recap and “Bringing the Forum Home”
For additional information, visit www.mff.org.
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