October 10, 2016
SANTA MONICA, CA (October 10, 2016) – Four talented Southern California Jewish day school educators recently got the surprise of their careers:
During individual schoolwide assemblies – ostensibly held to herald the High Holy Days – each recipient was caught off guard with a 2016 Milken Jewish Educator Award (JEA), an unrestricted $15,000 financial prize and cheering students. The announcements were made on September 26th and October 10th by Milken Family Foundation Executive Vice President Richard Sandler and BJE: Builders of Jewish Education Executive Director Dr. Gil Graff.
"These educators exemplify the Jewish day school mission to prepare our youth for successful lives in the context of our values as a people," said Sandler, who has been involved with JEA since its inception in 1990. "Through their intelligence, scholarship, commitment and compassion, each in their own way motivates students to achieve their academic potential, improve our communities, and embrace the joys and responsibilities of their Jewish heritage."
About the 2016 JEA Recipients
These four educators will be celebrated, together with their families and community leaders, during an awards luncheon at the Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel on December 14, 2016. The event is known for its inclusiveness, bringing together people from the most secular to the most Orthodox in the Jewish community.
The Jewish Educator Awards initiative was established 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 BJE-affiliated day schools.
Award recipients are selected by a committee of educators, professional and lay leaders from the Jewish community, according to the following criteria:
CONTACT: Bonnie Somers, (310) 570-4770 or bsomers@mff.org