October 15, 2013
SANTA MONICA, CA (Oct. 15, 2013) – Four LA-area Jewish day school educators received the surprise of a lifetime today with an honor they didn’t even apply for—the Milken Jewish Educator Award (JEA) and its $15,000 unrestricted financial prize. The four include:
(Note: Clicking on recipients' names above will open their notification photo galleries.)
During all-school assemblies at each campus, Milken Family Foundation Executive Vice President Richard Sandler, who also serves as Chairman of the Board of the Los Angeles Jewish Federation involved students in the presentation, together with BJE Executive Director Dr. Gil Graff.
The Jewish Educator Awards initiative was established in 1990 by the Milken Family Foundation, in cooperation with BJE: Builders of Jewish Education, to provide public recognition and unrestricted $15,000 cash awards to teachers, administrators and other education professionals in the Greater Los Angeles area who have made significant contributions to excellence in day schools affiliated with BJE.
According to Sandler, “The Jewish Educator Awards call upon others in the profession to emulate the high standards of those we honor today – educators whose intelligence, scholarship, creativity and compassion help guide children to greater success, while preserving the heritage that gives meaning to that success.”
Award recipients are selected by a committee of educators, professional and lay leaders from the Jewish community. To be eligible for consideration, educators must teach a minimum of 15 hours per week at the kindergarten through 12th grade level; they must have been teaching for a minimum of seven years in a BJE-affiliated school; and they must hold a class "A" or higher scale rating (for Judaic teachers) or a state teaching credential (for general studies teachers).
Criteria considered for the selection of Jewish Educator Award recipients include:
Recipients, together with their families and community leaders, will be honored during an awards luncheon in Los Angeles on December 17, 2013. The event is known for its inclusiveness, bringing together people from the most secular to the most Orthodox in the Jewish community.
For more information about the Jewish Educator Awards, visit www.jewisheducatorawards.org.
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