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Port Allen's Jessica Major Named Louisiana Milken Educator

 

 

Milken Educator Award winner Jessica Major celebrates with students at Port Allen Middle School after her surprise notification ceremony. In 2009, two years before Major arrived, the school was on the Louisiana Department of Education’s Academic Watch list for low achievement. Major joined the school as a master teacher after Port Allen Middle School adopted TAP: The System for Teacher and Student Advancement, an initiative of the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET). The TAP System creates an environment of increased teacher leadership, ongoing professional development, educator observation, sharing and feedback, and competitive compensation. As a result of Major and her team’s work, by 2013, disciplinary actions were down to 200, while test scores had jumped by almost 22 points—the highest ever in the school’s history.