$25,000 Surprise Awarded to Knox County Educator
Monday, October 04, 2010 | 07:00am
NASHVILLE – Surprises were in store today for Dogwood Elementary School fourth grade teacher Ashley Kear, who received a $25,000 Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award, an honor given to select outstanding educators each year.
The award was presented during a surprise ceremony at the Knox County school this morning by Chairman and Co-Founder Lowell Milken and Knox County Schools Superintendent Jim McIntyre. The event was part of the Milken Family Foundation’s 2010 National Notifications tour recognizing this year’s winners.
“Teachers are what provide the strong foundation for students during the school day and moral support that will stay with them throughout their lives,” Education Commissioner Tim Webb said. “These educators give of themselves everyday to better prepare our children to be college-and career ready. It is important that we recognize and show the same support to our educators as well.”
Kear is a cheerleader for her students both inside and outside the classroom. Her upbeat momentum and strong foundation in data-driven differentiated instruction and project-based learning has encouraged positive results in achievement on state assessments and progress from her students. Kear can often be found staying after school for additional tutoring and attending her students’ extracurricular activities to show support and makes a distinct effort to get to know each of her students’ families better. Her positive outreach has built a strong support system, certified her as a mentor teacher and extended learning for her students from the classroom to the home.
The Milken National Educator Award was created to focus attention on the need for excellent educators and encourage qualified individuals to enter the profession. Recipients have demonstrated positive results in the classroom, educational accomplishments outside the classroom, a potential for leadership and the ability to motivate students, colleagues and the community. For more information, visit www.mff.org.
Ashley Kear and other award recipients from across the country will be recognized at the Milken National Educational Conference in spring 2011.
For more information, contact Amanda Maynord Anderson at (615) 532-7817 or Amanda.Anderson@tn.gov.
###