$25K surprise: Mesa teacher receives prestigious award
It has been called the Oscars of teaching, and the award comes with $25,000 — no strings attached.
Nicki Derryberry, a biotechnology teacher at Red Mountain High School in Mesa, was awarded the prestigious Milken Educator Award during a boisterous school assembly Monday.
The honor, given annually to just a few dozen teachers in the U.S., recognizes exceptional work by model educators.
It was presented by Lowell Milken, chairman and co-founder of the Milken Family Foundation. He was joined by Arizona Schools Superintendent Diane Douglas and Mesa Public Schools Superintendent Michael Cowan.
Derryberry had thought she was attending a regular school assembly with her class. When Milken got up to speak and explained who he is and what the foundation does, the room buzzed.
“We know from research and our own personal experiences that the single most important school-related factor in determining how students will do is the quality of teacher in the classroom,” Milken said.
A few minutes later, Milken revealed that Derryberry was the educator he had come to recognize. The room erupted.
Derryberry said she hopes her students can come up with a project that she can fund with the award money.
Later Monday, Milken representatives presented the award to Brittany Matsushino, an English teacher at Tucson’s Cienega High School.