Two of the state’s top educators were surprised with the Milken Educator award for their outstanding educator skills and received $25 thousand dollars. The recipients are Slidell teacher Kelly Ryan and Destrehan teacher Lauren Waguespack. Ryan says she could have never prepared herself for such an award.
“I was thinking about all of these other veteran teachers that have been here for so long and do so many great things. Like trying to guess who it would because there is no way it was going to be me.”
Ryan is the first-ever Milken Educator Award honoree in St. Tammany Parish Public School system history. The Northshore alumna was honored for challenging her 11th and 12th science students at Northshore High to take an active role in learning.
“A lot of kids are used to being able to look up anything on their phone immediately but they really have not learned to just think. So one of my biggest goals in the classroom is how do you just make them think.”
Ryan and Waguespack are two of four educators in the Bayou State who earned the 2023-2024 Milken Educator Award. Christine Bayard of Johnston-Hopkins Elementary in Iberia Parish and Derrick Winn of Crestworth Elementary in East Baton Rouge Parish also received the Milken Educator award this week.
During a school assembly, Waguespack was recognized with the “Oscar of Teaching” for her innovative teaching skills and pursuing leadership opportunities. The sixth-grade teacher at Harry Hurst Middle believes this award is a tremendous honor for educators.
“So it’s important for teachers to know that they’re valued, that they’re respected, that they do the most important work because they prepare all these students to go out and go into the world and live life and be productive people.”
Waguespack says her goal is to create an environment where learning becomes a journey. She hopes to make a lasting impression on the lives of her science students.
“I wish I would have had a teacher that made science fun and made learning about science fun so that kids could get passionate about it so my students, I want them to want to learn science, want to grow up and be different kind of scientists.”
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