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Historic, Nationwide Tour Touches Down in Ellisville to Surprise Local Teacher with $25,000 Milken Educator Award

Meghan Menchella's hands-on history lessons are capturing national attention

 

November 17, 2023

Santa Monica, Calif. — Meghan Menchella's eighth grade social studies class is bursting with energy: Between transforming her classroom into courtrooms and crime scenes to help narrate infamous historical events, Menchella always keeps students on their toes. However today, Crestview Middle School students witnessed her making history as she received the surprise of a lifetime: a $25,000 Milken Educator Award.

The energy was electric as Milken Educator Awards Vice President Stephanie Bishop and Missouri Commissioner of Education Margie Vandeven presented Menchella with the prestigious national Award at an all-school assembly, recognizing her as one of the country's finest K-12 educators in front of cheering students, colleagues, dignitaries and media. Bestowed by the Milken Family Foundation, the Award also provides recipients with an unrestricted cash prize of $25,000. Menchella is the first Milken Educator Award recipient in the Rockwood School District since 2005.

"Meghan Menchella shines as a leader, educator and storyteller," said Bishop, who is also a 2001 Virginia Milken Educator. "History is full of stories; it takes the right educator to not only share those stories to young learners, but to also instill a sense of impact. Menchella's engaging instruction encourages students to truly delve into history as it stands today. I am thrilled to say that Meghan is now a part of our Milken Educator Awards history. Congratulations!"

Menchella is the second and final Missouri Milken Educator recipient this season. She joins Leah Lawrence who also received her Award today, November 17, at Hardin Middle School in St. Charles. Both Menchella and Lawrence are among up to 75 recipients across the country who will be honored in 2023-24 as part of the Milken Family Foundation's historic, nationwide tour reaching the presentation of the 3,000^th Milken Educator in 2024.

"We are thrilled to have the Milken Family Foundation recognize one of Missouri’s exceptional teachers with this award," said Commissioner of Education Margie Vandeven. "The hard work that Meghan does every day to help educate the whole student in her classroom is truly inspiring to see."

Hailed as the "Oscars of Teaching," 2023-24 will reach $75 million in individual financial prizes spanning the length of the initiative and more than $144 million invested in the Milken Educator Award national network overall, empowering recipients to "Celebrate, Elevate, and Activate" the K-12 profession and inspiring young, capable people to pursue teaching as a career.

Milken Educator 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 Meghan Menchella

Sparking Student Engagement: U.S. history comes alive in Meghan Menchella's eighth grade social studies class at Ellisville’s Crestview Middle School. Menchella transforms her classroom into a crime scene during a unit on the Boston Massacre and a courtroom to introduce the Salem Witch Trials. Students look at evidence, examine primary source documents, and analyze timelines, reports, letters and pictures to reach their own conclusions as to what actually happened centuries earlier. Always seeking ways for students to see themselves in the curriculum, Menchella piques students’ interest by reading the Declaration of Independence as a romantic breakup letter. To prepare for her unit on the Civil War, Menchella attended a Black history conference, gathered a panel of students to offer input on readings and discussion topics, and introduced constructive discussions skills to her 140 students. Menchella's approach delivers — her students outperform the district on eighth grade U.S. history assessments.

Encouraging Schoolwide Collaboration: Menchella leads Crestview's grade-level U.S. history professional learning community and sits on the school leadership and district social studies curriculum teams. She runs professional development for second-year teachers on best assessment practices, opens her classroom for observation and works with pre-service teachers. Menchella scaffolds instruction across all learning levels to ensure that each student has the opportunity to succeed in her class and beyond. She helped incorporate student reflection into summative assessments, a practice now used across grade levels at Crestview.

Shaping young community leaders: As co-leader of the National Junior Honor Society and Crestview's Leader in Me Student Lighthouse Team, Menchella helps students build skills through service projects at school and in the community. She guides a mentor program that connects each student with a Crestview staff member and has coordinated the school’s eighth grade trip to Washington, D.C.

Education: In 2016, Menchella earned a Bachelor of Arts in middle school education, with an emphasis on social studies, from Lindenwood University. In 2018, she earned a Master of Science in education from Southwest Baptist University.

More about the Milken Educator Award Journey: "The Future Belongs to the Educated"

• The honorees attend an all-expenses-paid Milken Educator Awards Forum in Los Angeles in June 2024, 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.
• 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 a specific topic area; and Activating Milken Educators (AME) promotes group collaboration in and across states to tackle pressing educational needs.
• Veteran Milken Educators demonstrate a wide range of leadership roles at state, national and international levels.
• 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. 

Follow the Milken Educator Awards tour and use the #MEA3K and #MilkenAward hashtags on: Facebook (MilkenEducatorAwards) | X (Milken) | YouTube (MilkenAward) | Instagram (MilkenFamilyFdn) | LinkedIn (MilkenFamilyFdn) | TikTok (MilkenAward).

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

About the Milken Educator Awards
The first Milken Educator Awards were presented by the Milken Family Foundation in 1987. Created by Lowell Milken, the Awards provide public recognition and individual financial rewards of $25,000 to elementary and secondary school 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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