Supt McCulloch Honors Montana Teachers With $25,000 Milken Awards – Leo Bird, Browning High School and Kelley Morand, Capital High School

Two Montana teachers had a very good day Tuesday.

In two special mystery assemblies held at their respective schools on Tuesday, October 25th, the unsuspecting teachers were told by State Superintendent Linda McCulloch they had each been selected to receive the 2005 Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award http://www.mff.org/ . This honor comes with an unrestricted cash award of $25,000.

McCulloch, who arrived at each of the two schools to make the announcement in person, said, "I applaud these teachers for their dedication to a quality education for Montana students. It is only appropriate that I make this announcement at the schools in which these educators made so many contributions to the students of Montana."

The two educators who received the awards are:

Leo Bird, Browning High School chemistry, biology, and astronomy teacher

Kelley Morand, English teacher at Capital High School in Helena

Until they heard the surprise announcements, the two teachers did not even know they were being considered for the Milken Family Foundation National Educator award. Candidates cannot apply for the award themselves, nor can they be nominated. Montana candidates for the award program were identified by the Office of Public Instruction based on their exemplary commitment to excellence, including the ability to motivate students, innovation in curricula and teaching methods, Names of top candidates were provided to a selection panel, which chose the award recipients and recommended them to McCulloch.

"Each one of these outstanding educators makes a significant difference in the lives and futures of our children," said McCulloch. "This marks our 13th year of recognizing excellence in education with the Milken Family Foundation, and we are proud to acknowledge the vision and dedication these educators bring to the profession."

Superintendent McCulloch will be present when the two Montana honorees are presented with their $25,000 Award checks at the 19th annual Milken Family Foundation National Education Conference, an all-expenses-paid professional development conference to be held this spring in Washington, D.C. They also join the Milken Educator Network, a coalition of over 2,100 top educators who have access to a variety of expert resources to help cultivate and expand innovative programs in their classrooms, schools and districts.

Education pioneer Lowell Milken – chairman and co-founder of the Milken Family Foundation – created the Awards to celebrate the efforts of some of our nationís most outstanding teachers, principals and specialists in K-12 education. Under his leadership, the Milken National Educator Awards has become the largest teacher recognition program in the United States. By the end of October, 2,100 exceptional educators from 48 states will have been recognized, totaling over $54 million in Awards from the Foundation since the program’s inception.