Ammon teacher surprised with $25,000 Milken Educator Award
AMMON, Idaho (KIFI) – On Wednesday, first grade teacher at White Pine Charter School, Anna Attebury, received the Milken Educator Award with a $25,000 prize.
The award recognizes kindergarten through 12th grade teachers across the nation for excellence in education. These teachers are not nominated but instead sought out by the Milken Family Foundation.
Milken Family Foundation Senior Program Director, Greg Gallagher, presented the Award with Idaho State Department of Education Superintendent of Public Instruction, Sherri Ybarra, at an assembly. Students and staff showed their appreciation with claps and cheers.
Attebury will now join the Milken Educator Network of more than 2,900 educators across the country. She is one of 40 teachers that will be presented with this award in the 2022-2023 school year.
Gallagher says, "Anna is a proven, innovative leader who holds high standards for her students and herself. This is evident in her students’ charted growth in learning and her enthusiasm for her craft. We welcome Anna to the Milken Educator Network and look forward to her contributions as we ‘Celebrate, Elevate and Activate’ the teaching profession.”
Attebury focuses on STEM-based learning in her classroom, where they focus on hands-on projects to stimulate the brain.
Ybarra says Attebury's, "Energetic, project-based approach clearly works: During the 2021-22 school year, her first-graders averaged 127% growth in reading achievement and 111% growth in math. She also leads an after-school STEM club for grades 1 through 5, exploring everything from 3D printing to computer coding and drones. Plus, she heads up White Pine’s Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports team, mentors new teachers and works with students who have learning disabilities. She’s amazing, and it’s no wonder she has earned this remarkable award.”
Ron Cote, Executive Director of White Pine Charter Schools, says, "We’re a relatively small charter school system, and we have to do things differently – better... Anna fits our system perfectly, with a focus on the whole student, not just academics. She’s nimble like charter schools need to be: See a problem, fix a problem. And, she embodies our focus on whole student formation: teaching to high academic standards, guiding good citizenship, and making sure the kids are OK in their lives. Anna’s selection for this fantastic honor is awe-inspiring yet not surprising: It reflects the kind of teacher she is, the kind of teachers we appreciate, and the kind of teachers in our system. I believe I can speak for White Pine in saying 'we are proud of her.'”
