Patrick Kaplo Surprised By $25,000 Milken National Educator Award

October 22, 2009

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 elevate, activate, motivate, and retain talented people to the challenges and adventures of teaching. Patrick Kaplo, a teacher at Campbell High School in Litchfield, was surprised with the news by Commissioner Virginia Barry, Ph.D. 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 2,400 educators from coast to coast with over $60 million.

"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 the healthy development of children," said Commissioner Barry. "This marks our eleventh 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."

Polls indicate that education is a leading issue for Americans, yet research shows that our students are in danger of not keeping pace in today's competitive global economy. Outstanding educators are essential to the fostering of student growth, the improvement of schools, and the enhancement of the education profession. If students are to succeed, they must be inspired to believe in themselves. With appropriate support, students are able to be actively engaged in their learning, and can begin to see the connection between what they learn today and who they want to become tomorrow. "The future belongs to the educated," the theme of the Milken Educator Awards, serves as a call to America's task at hand.

"Highly effective educators are the human capital that will equip America's youth in this increasingly competitive global economy. By shining a national spotlight on these exceptional people, the Milken Educator Awards send a powerful message of the critical role that talented teachers play in preparing young people for a bright future," said Lowell Milken.

Unlike most teaching awards, the Milken National 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 National 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.

Recipients are presented with their unrestricted $25,000 award checks at the annual Milken National Education Conference, an all-expenses-paid professional development conference held this spring, in Los Angeles, California.

For more information about the Milken National Educator Awards, including pictures and bios of the New Hampshire recipient, please contact Lori Temple, Public Information Officer, NH Department of Education (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 or the Foundation's Web site at www.mff.org.

To contact Campbell High School please call (603) 546-0304