Honors and Awards

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Milken Foundation Awards

Seventy-five K-12 educators from around the country have been awarded a total of $2 million in the 2007 Educator Awards from the Santa Monica, Calif.-based Milken Foundation, a philanthropy started in 1982 by Lowell Milken with the goal of honoring outstanding educators and principals. This year’s winners were selected by a panel from each of the state’s education departments and were nominated based on their ability to improve student learning and for demonstrating strong long-range professional potential. Each of this year’s winners will receive a $25,000 cash prize. The recipients include the following:

Alabama: Bonnie Garrett, Edward White Middle School, Huntsville.
Alaska: Michael Warren, Central Middle School of Science, Anchorage.
Arizona: Caroline Torres, Sahuarita High School, Sahuarita.
Arkansas: Margaret Lockhart, Lingle Middle School, Rogers; Corey Oliver, Bob Courtway Middle School, Conway.
California: Aaron Chung, Temple Intermediate School, Rosemead; Sakhalin Finnie, Harbor Teacher Preparation Academy, Wilmington; Marilyn Garza, Santa Barbara Junior High School, Santa Barbara.
Colorado: Michael Arsenault, Pine Creek High School, Colorado Springs; Daniel Uyechi, Sierra Middle School, Parker.
Connecticut: Thomas Brodnitzki, Metropolitan Learning Center, Bloomfield; John Nguyen, James Hillhouse High School, New Haven.
Florida: Janice Boyd, Cecil E. Gray Middle School, Groveland.
Georgia: Wendy McCarron, Northview High School, Duluth; Jill Ryerson, North Whitfield Middle School, Dalton.
Hawaii: Yannabah Lewis, Kealakehe High School, Kailua-Kona.
Idaho: Mikki Nuckols, Rocky Mountain Middle School, Idaho Falls.
Illinois: Samantha Godden-Chmielowicz, Schurz High School, Chicago; Katherine “Daphne” Whitington, Las Casas Occupational High School, Chicago.
Indiana: Jeff Rudkin, Batchelor Middle School, Bloomington; Dexter Suggs, Emma Donnan Middle School, Indianapolis.
Kansas: Jamelle Brown, Summer Academy of Arts and Science, Kansas City; Eric Kessler, Blue Valley North High School, Overland Park.
Kentucky: Dodd Caudill, LaRue County Middle School, Hodgenville.
Louisiana: Cheronda Cooper, Peabody Magnet High School, Lake Charles; Sabra Soileau, Moss Bluff Middle School, Lake Charles; Brian Young, Martin Behrman Charter School, New Orleans.
Maine: Brian Jandreau, South Portland High School, South Portland.
Maryland: Mabrooka Chaudhry, Atholton High School, Columbia; Kiara Hargrove, Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, Baltimore.
Massachusetts: Anne Clark, Boston Arts Academy, Boston; Matthew Dugan, Madison Park Technical Vocational High School, Boston.
Michigan: Brian Langley, Novi Senior High School, Novi; David Robinson, Randolph Career and Technical High School, Detroit.
Minnesota: Sharon Cormany Ornelas, Patrick Henry High School, Minneapolis; Thomas Tusken, Denfeld High School, Duluth.
Mississippi: Madeline Loftin, Wingfield High School, Jackson; Rachael McKinney, Brandon Middle School, Brandon.
Missouri: Sara Crump, Blue Springs High School, Blue Springs; Curtis James, Clayton High School, Clayton.
Montana: Angela McLean, Anaconda High School, Anaconda.
Nebraska: Emily Olesen, R.M. Marrs Magnet Center, Omaha.
Nevada: Ernest Ashby, Orr Middle School, Las Vegas; Valerie Fine, Wooster High School, Reno.
New Hampshire: Marina Capen, Souhegan High School, Amherst.
New Jersey: Jamal Dickerson, Creative Arts High School, Camden; James Gleason, Communications High School, Wall.
New Mexico: Jesus Trujillo, Hagerman High School, Hagerman.
North Carolina: Stuart Albright, C.E. Jordan High School, Durham.
North Dakota: Rhonda Grindy, Jim Hill Middle School, Minot.
Ohio: Maria Davis, John P. Parker School, Cincinnati; Darrell Yater, White Oak Middle School, Cincinnati.
Oklahoma: Dionne Liebl, Putnam City West High School, Oklahoma City; Shelly Unsicker, Central Junior High School, Moore.
Oregon: John O’Neill, Forest Grove High School, Forest Grove; Elisa Schorr, Pursuit of Wellness Education at Roosevelt High School, Portland.
Pennsylvania: Jill Dougherty, Springfield High School, Springfield; Michael Galbraith, Grover Washington Jr. Middle School, Philadelphia.
Rhode Island: Janine Napolitano, North Providence High School, North Providence.
South Carolina: Genia Webb, Lexington Middle School, Lexington; Eric Wilkinson, Sumter High School, Sumter.
South Dakota: Sherry Crofut, North Middle School, Rapid City.
Tennessee: Jonathon Rysewyk, Fulton High School, Knoxville.
Texas: Candelario Barragan, El Dorado High School, El Paso; Cynthia Carroll, Bowie High School, Austin; Melanie Lynn Chambers, Cedar Hill High School, Cedar Hill; Justin Singleton, Carver High School, Houston.
Utah: Jennifer Van Haaften, Butler Middle School, Salt Lake City.
Vermont: Susan Hennessey, Harwood Union High School, South Duxbury.
Virginia: Kimberly Colbert, Thompson Middle School, Richmond; Amy Macaleer, Battlefield High School, Haymarket.
Washington: Erin Jones, John Rogers High School, Spokane.
West Virginia: George Aulenbacher, Stonewall Jackson Middle School, Charleston.
Wisconsin: Megan Dixon, Greenfield Middle School, Greenfield.
Wyoming: Walt Wilcox, Dean Morgan High School, Casper.

Vol. 27

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