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Chad Downs, You're a Milken Educator

 

 

With some of the school's older students listening in, Chad Downs talks with reporters at his surprise Milken Educator Award notification. To bring learning to life in his third- and fourth-grade classroom, the teacher brings in guest speakers to talk about their careers and organizes trips to Detroit, Kalamazoo and the Henry Ford Museum. He teaches a course on manners and civility during the school’s twice-yearly Focus study period and encourages students to join him in community service projects. On all fronts, Downs’ students are thriving: Nearly all of them hit their learning benchmarks last year.