Texas Insider Report: BRYAN Texas Gov. Rick Perry today was joined by Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott to present the prestigious Milken National Educator Award to Tracy Spies of Ben Milam Elementary School in Bryan. The award provides public recognition and financial rewards to exemplary elementary and secondary education professionals.
Texas schools are on the right path thanks to great teachers dedicated parents and state and local pro- education policies" said Gov. Perry. I want to let the teachers and administrators here at Milam Elementary and their peers all across the state know how much I appreciate their hard work."
Tracy Spies is a life-long educator and the principle of Milam Elementary. She is an exemplary leader and mentor and strives to help teachers become more effective instructional leaders. Spies is currently pursuing her doctorate in Bilingual Education from Texas A&M University.
The Milken Educator Awards were created in 1987 to celebrate exemplary K-12 educators. Today the Milken Educator Award is the nations preeminent teacher recognition program having honored more than 2400 K-12 teachers principals and specialists coast to coast and distributing more than $60 million in individual $25000 awards.
Award winners are chosen by an independent blue ribbon committee appointed by each states department of education to recommend candidates according to strict criteria with final selections made by the Milken Family Foundation. Winners are notified in the fall at an all-school assembly and participate in the Milken Educator Forum in Santa Monica CA in the spring. Recipients are also inducted into the national Milken Educator Network dedicated to reforming and strengthening American K-12 education.
Ensuring that Texas remains a leader in job creation depends on the continued development of our workforce. Gov. Perry has previously outlined several education initiatives for the 2011 legislative session including:
- A $160 million expansion of the Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) program increasing the number and scope of T-STEM Academies and funding STEM scholarships to help ensure students receive a competitive education in these subjects.
- Expansion of the Virtual School Network (VSN) to create the Texas Virtual High School that will provide students who have dropped out of school an opportunity to earn a high school diploma through virtual courses while improving access to high-quality courses for all students. The VSN was created during the 2007 Legislative Session to establish a statewide network of online courses available to students across the state. These virtual courses give students access to classes their schools may not offer additional access to dual credit opportunities and additional flexibility to help keep students in school.
- Generation Adelante/Generacin Forward which encourages Texas high school graduates to pursue higher education by providing them with information about college applications financial aid and college visits. These college fairs also give students the opportunity to speak with representatives from more than 30 colleges universities and technical colleges from across the state.
- Requiring high school students to be enrolled in school or working toward a GED to be eligible to keep a Texas driver license.
- Providing a tax incentive to employers who grant their employees two hours a week of paid time off to return to school or study for their GED. Once the employees have received their diploma or GED the employer is eligible to receive $1500 per student in credit toward sales tax liability.
- Texas Education on iTunes U which offers a modern approach to keeping teachers and students engaged and informed by providing free supplementary educational content that can be accessed anywhere.
For more information about the Milken Educator Awards please visit
http://www.mff.org/mea/
For more information about Gov. Perrys education initiatives please visit:
http://governor.state.tx.us/initiatives/education/
