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Indiana Teacher Katie Lanter Surprised with the "Oscar of Teaching" — a $25,000 Milken Educator Award

In Versailles, Indiana, South Ripley Junior High School's Katie Lanter makes history as the first-ever Milken Educator Award recipient in the district

December 12, 2024

Santa Monica, Calif. —This morning at South Ripley Junior High School in Versailles, a scheduled assembly with Indiana Secretary of Education Dr. Katie Jenner turned into a wonderful surprise for one unsuspecting teacher. In front of cheering students, colleagues, dignitaries and media, seventh grade English language arts and reading teacher Katie Lanter was shocked to hear Milken Educator Awards Senior Vice President Dr. Jane Foley call her name as a 2024-25 Milken Educator Award recipient. Dr. Foley, a 1994 Indiana Milken Educator herself, honored Lanter with the Award and its unrestricted $25,000 cash prize, making Lanter the first-ever Milken Educator Award recipient in South Ripley Community School Corporation history and the 70^th recipient in the Hoosier State. 

"Katie Lanter is a leader in preparing students for the rigor and excitement of high school," said Dr. Foley. "From guiding students' educational journeys to contributing to the excellence of South Ripley Junior High School at large, Katie's impact has had a ripple effect on all the lives she has touched. Thank you, Katie, for inspiring the love of learning in others and for choosing teaching as a career." 

Lanter will join a national network of over 3,000 Milken Educators spanning the Awards' nearly 40-year history as the nation's preeminent teacher-recognition program. Hailed as the "Oscars of Teaching," the Milken Educator Awards inspire educators, students and entire communities to "Celebrate, Elevate and Activate" the K-12 teaching profession and encourage young, capable people to pursue teaching as a career. More than $75 million in individual financial prizes and more than $145 million have been invested in the Milken Educator Award national network overall. 

"An exceptional educator and teacher leader, Katie Lanter consistently discovers new opportunities to help her students and fellow educators reach their full potential at South Ripley Junior High," said Dr. Katie Jenner, Indiana Secretary of Education. "Mrs. Lanter is laser-focused on using sound data and her own creativity to ensure her students are receiving high-quality instruction that will set them up for success in high school and beyond."

Outstanding educators like Lanter are not aware of their candidacy for the Award. Recipients are sought out while early- to mid-career for what they have achieved — and for the promise of what they will accomplish given the resources and opportunities afforded by the Award. 

More About Katie Lanter 

Data-Driven Instruction: Katie Lanter is focused on implementing effective instructional strategies and maximizing learning outcomes for every student she meets. A seventh grade English Language Arts and reading teacher at South Ripley Junior High School, Lanter leads data analysis discussions among her colleagues, utilizing interim assessment (Clearsight) and state testing (ILEARN) data, then maps students' progress on the teachers' "data wall" year-round for easier visual identification of their performance. Further harnessing her targeted instructional approach, Lanter offers an eighth grade reading and creative writing class for high school credit, designed at her hand to prepare students for the rigor of high school. Lanter's efforts have contributed significantly to consistently positive outcomes in reading and ELA, and seventh grade holds a first place ranking in ELA, reading and writing performance in Southeastern Indiana. 

A Team Player: Lanter is dedicated to the betterment and growth of South Ripley Junior High School. In her role as the school improvement team chair, she helped guide the school's Cognia accreditation process, state STEM certification, and Project Lead the Way Distinguished School recognition. Lanter serves as a grade-level PLC member, mentor teacher and transition team member. As a teacher leader on the transition team, Lanter helped build an instructional framework between the South Ripley Junior High and High School buildings to promote consistency and communication of effective strategies for students' transition to high school. After the project's completion, Lanter took part in presenting the data at the Indiana Principals Leadership Institute State Seminar, which was professionally published through Indiana State University. 

Continued Support: Extending her support outside of the classroom, Lanter tutors students after-school through the Raider Accountability Program, fundraises donations to benefit local veterans, and sponsors the school’s Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) program, where she advocates for drug and vaping safety and awareness and organizes a schoolwide Red Ribbon Week. 

Education: Lanter earned her Bachelor of Science in secondary English education with a minor in classical culture from Ball State University in 2012. 

The Milken Educator Award Reaps Lifelong Benefits 

• The $25,000 cash Award is unrestricted. Recipients have used the money in diverse ways. Some recipients have spent the funds on their children's or their own continuing education, financing dream field trips, establishing scholarships, and even adopting children.
• Honorees receive powerful mentorship opportunities for expanded leadership roles that strengthen education practice and policy. Milken Friends Forever (MFF) pairs a new recipient with a veteran Milken Educator mentor; the Expanding MFF Resource and Explorer Program fosters individual veteran Milken Educator partnerships around specific topic areas; and Activating Milken Educators promotes group collaboration in and across states to bring solutions to pressing educational needs.
• The honorees attend an all-expenses-paid Milken Educator Awards Forum in Los Angeles in April 2025, where they will network with their new colleagues as well as veteran Milken Educators and other education leaders about how to broaden their impact on K-12 education.
• Veteran Milken Educators demonstrate a wide range of leadership roles at state, national and international levels. 

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Visit MilkenEducatorAwards.org or call the Milken Family Foundation at (310) 570-4772 for more information.

About the Milken Educator Awards: "The Future Belongs to the Educated"
The first Milken Educator Awards were presented by the Milken Family Foundation in 1987. Created by philanthropist and education visionary Lowell Milken, the Awards provide public recognition and individual financial rewards of $25,000 to K-12 teachers, principals, and specialists from around the country who are furthering excellence in education. Recipients are heralded in early- to mid-career for what they have achieved and for the promise of what they will accomplish. The Milken Family Foundation celebrates more than 40 years of elevating education in America and around the world. Learn more at MFF.org. 

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