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$25,000 Milken Educator Award Takes Outstanding Oneida Elementary Teacher by Surprise

Third grade teacher Stephanie Boshears makes district history as Tennessee's sole 2024-25 Milken Educator Award recipient

March 13, 2025

Santa Monica, Calif.  — Third grade is a pivotal year for students, and effective teachers serve as the cornerstone of student success. To her surprise, today, one extraordinarily effective teacher at Oneida Elementary School went from third grade teacher to nationally recognized Milken Educator Award recipient: Stephanie Boshears. 

What began as a school assembly with Tennessee Commissioner of Education Lizzette Reynolds ended in celebration for Oneida's beloved Boshears. Dr. Joshua Barnett — representing the Milken Family Foundation as CEO of the National Institute of Excellence in Teaching — presented Boshears with her Milken Educator Award in front of cheering students, colleagues, dignitaries and media. Along with the Award, Boshears received an unrestricted $25,000 cash prize. She is the sole Milken Educator Award recipient in Tennessee in 2024-25, and the first-ever recipient in Oneida Special School District history. 

"Stephanie Boshears' dedication and passion for providing high-quality instruction are making a difference in the lives of students at Oneida Elementary School," said Dr. Barnett. "Her unwavering leadership to her students and colleagues contributes to the strong collaboration and support across the school. The national Milken Educator Network will serve as a powerful platform to advance her impressive career to even greater heights. Congratulations, Stephanie!" 

Today Boshears joins 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. 

"Tennessee is home to incredible educators who demonstrate excellence and serve as models to best support their students. Early grade educators have an instrumental impact on students' growth as they teach foundational skills that will guide students to long-term success, and third grade teacher Mrs. Boshears is a remarkable example of this," said Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds. "Congratulations to Mrs. Boshears on representing the state of Tennessee by receiving the well-deserved and prestigious Milken Educator Award." 

Outstanding educators like Boshears 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. Boshears is the 74^th recipient in Tennessee since the state joined the Milken Educator Awards in 1992. Boshears' announcement concludes the 2024-25 national Milken Educator Awards tour recognizing 42 elementary and secondary educators. 

More About Stephanie Boshears 

Inspiring Student Success: Stephanie Boshears' third grade classroom at Oneida Elementary School is erupting with students engaged in their learning. Whether she is leading small group instruction, classroom discussions, peer-to-peer feedback, or utilizing ongoing assessments to track academic progress, Boshears has a firm grasp on igniting the growth of her students. Through the incorporation of student success criteria, her students have a clear understanding of what success looks like for every assignment and set high expectations to achieve their goals. Boshears' approach encourages students to take charge of their learning, build higher-order thinking skills, adhere to academic structure and rigor, and incorporate movement to reinforce core concepts. 

Modeling a Growth Mindset: Boshears' instructional leadership, data-driven decision making, and growth mindset are fostered through Oneida's partnership with the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching's (NIET) systems for educator excellence, leadership and professional development. As the third grade department chair on her school's instructional leadership team (ILT), Boshears helps lead implementation of professional learning opportunities and initiatives like "The Writing Revolution" training, and guides her peers in effectively using new unit and lesson preparation protocol provided by the Tennessee Department of Education. She helms her third grade professional learning community (PLC), serves as a teacher mentor, and opens her classroom doors for observation from colleagues and student teachers. Boshears is also integral to field-testing strategies with teachers and students to assess their reliability and ensure effective implementation in the classroom. To complement Oneida's strong, school-embedded professional development, Boshears continues to fuel her growth and that of her colleagues by regularly attending workshops, outside professional development opportunities, and leading her own district-level professional development sessions on academic rigor and classroom management. 

Engaging the Community: A member of her school's literacy team, Boshears works with colleagues to coordinate family literacy nights, an effort to further involve families in their student's learning and stay connected to the classroom. Her long-standing commitment to the Oneida Special School District strengthens her rapport with students and families each year. 

Education: Boshears earned her bachelor's in education K-6 in 2010 from Tennessee Tech University. 

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 April 1-3, 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. 

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 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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