Gov. Honors NJ Educators

Governor James E. McGreevey and Commissioner of Education William L. Librera attended a luncheon today honoring New Jersey’s 2002 Milken National Educator Award recipients.

“We are proud of the six educators from New Jersey who were honored with the Milken National Educator Award,” said McGreevey. “These teachers exemplify the very best in education in our State and this Administration will continue to honor teachers who exhibit the passion, drive and desire to be leaders in their classrooms and communities.”

In October of this year, Governor McGreevey and Commissioner Librera joined the Milken Family Foundation in honoring National Educator Award recipients throughout the state. Information about the awardees is available here. New Jersey’s six recipients were:

* April Lowe of Parkway Elementary School in Ewing, Mercer County
* Theresa Licitra of Crawford-Rodriguez School in Jackson, Ocean County
* Patricia McGee of Norwood Public Schools in Norwood, Bergen County
* John Bormann of H.W. Mountz School in Spring Lake, Monmouth County
* Stephen Liddawi of Christopher Columbus Elementary School in Elizabeth, Union County
* James Aquavia of Montclair High School in Montclair, Essex County.

“I had the pleasure of attending the six surprise assemblies in October,” Commissioner Librera said. “To see these six educators receive such a prestigious award without any prior knowledge on their part was worth the priceless expressions on their faces. Their success is indeed our children’s success.”

About the Milken Awards:
Founder Lowell Milken, the foundation’s chairman, created the award program in 1985. The Milken National Awards Program, which honors teachers, principals and specialists in public education from Kindergarten through 12th grade, has become the largest teacher recognition program in the United States. As of October 2002, the Foundation will have presented nearly $45 million to more than 1,750 educators nationwide.

Educators are recommended for the prestigious award without their knowledge by a blue-ribbon panel appointed by a state’s Department of Education. Recipients of the Milken Awards are selected based on the following criteria:

*Exceptional educational talent as evidenced by outstanding instructional practices in the classroom, school and profession;
* Outstanding accomplishment and strong, long-range leadership potential for professional and policy leadership; and
* Engaging and inspiring presence that motivates and impacts students, colleagues and the community at-large.

Recipients are presented with their $25,000 award checks at the Milken Family Foundation National Education Conference, an all-expense paid professional development conference held in Los Angeles. They also join the Milken Educator Network, a coalition of more than 1,700 top educators who have access to a variety of expert resources to help cultivate and expand innovative programs in their classrooms, schools and districts.

The Administration’s Commitment to Education:
The Governor has made educational excellence one of his top priorities during his first year in office, and has specifically worked to maintain an open line of communication between the Governor’s Office and the State’s teachers.

At the Governor’s Education Summit in September, the Governor released a 21-point reform plan, a main component of which is to provide better training and more support to the State’s teachers. The Governor is continuing to meet with teachers in every county throughout the State at Teacher Town Meetings in order to engage in an open dialogue with the teaching community about his reform plan. The 21-point plan for education is posted on the DOE’s website, www.state.nj.us/education.

In March, the Governor also established a Teacher Advisory Committee, which advises the Governor on the experiences of teachers in the classroom, identifies and examines factors that attract bright students to the profession, and recommends ways to end intellectual isolation among teachers by building and supporting communities of learners.

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Author: Press Release-Kevin Davitt