Hampton Teacher Wins Big Teaching Award

Submitted on behalf of the Milken Educator Awards

Dubbed “the Oscars of teaching” by Teacher Magazine, the Milken Educator Awards were conceived by Milken Family Foundation Chairman and Co-Founder Lowell Milken, to recognize the importance of outstanding educators and encourage talented young people to enter teaching.

By honoring outstanding educators, the program strives to celebrate, elevate and activate excellence in education.

August “Gus” Carlson, a music teacher at Adeline C. Marston School in Hampton, was surprised with the news by Dr. Jane Foley, senior vice president of the Milken Educator Awards and a 1994 Indiana Milken Educator, during an emotional, schoolwide assembly attended by state and local officials, students, peers, and community leaders.

Since first presented in 1987 to 12 exemplary California teachers, the Milken Educator Awards program has honored more than 2,500 educators from coast to coast with over $63 million unrestricted $25,000 awards.

Commissioner Virginia Barry, Ph.D. said, “This award honors outstanding elementary and secondary teachers, principals, and specialists for the quality of their teaching, their professional leadership, their engagement with families and the community, and their potential for even greater contributions to meeting the needs of all children. This marks our fourteenth year of recognizing excellence in education with the Milken Family Foundation, and we are proud to acknowledge the vision and dedication these NH educators bring to their profession.”

“The visibility and reputation of the Milken Educator Awards result in unlimited opportunities for educators to powerfully impact education at local, state and national levels,” said Dr. Foley.

In schools across the nation, exemplary teachers will receive the surprise of a lifetime this fall when they are honored with a $25,000 Milken Educator Award. For the first time in their careers, these unsung heroes will be heralded with a fanfare typically reserved for star performances by athletes and entertainers. The recognition is not intended as 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 in the future.

Unlike most teaching awards, the Milken Educator Awards have no formal nomination or application process. Instead, educators are recommended for this prestigious honor without their knowledge by a blue-ribbon panel appointed by each State’s department of education.

Candidates for the Milken Educator Awards are selected on the basis of numerous criteria, including:

• 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, including pictures and bios of the New Hampshire recipient, please contact Lori Temple, Public Information Officer, NH Department of Education by e-mail at Lori.Temple@doe.nh.gov or phone (603) 271-6646 or the Milken Family Foundation at (310) 570-4773.

Awards information can also be found on the NH DOE Web site at www.education.nh.gov/recognition/milken.htm or the Foundation’s Web site at www.mff.org. You can connect with the Foundation at www.twitter.com/milken,www.facebook.com/milkeneducatorawards and at www.youtube.com/milkenaward.