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Holiday Surprise: Charlotte Teacher Presented with $25,000 Milken Educator Award

Croft Community School's Vanessa Smith presented with "Oscar of Teaching" for creative instruction and exceptional leadership

December 18, 2024

Charlotte, N.C. — First grade teacher Vanessa Smith received a heartwarming surprise for the holidays this morning at an all-school assembly at Croft Community School when she was presented with a Milken Educator Award. Hailed as the "Oscar of Teaching," the prestigious national honor, created by philanthropist and education visionary Lowell Milken, recognizes exceptional educators for their dedication to excellence in education and leadership. Milken Educator Awards Vice President Stephanie Bishop and North Carolina Deputy State Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Derrick Jordan presented the Award, which includes an unrestricted $25,000 cash prize that Smith may use however she chooses. 

"Vanessa Smith's dedication and creativity shine in every lesson as she guides her first-graders through engaging, thought-provoking learning activities that provide students with a solid foundation for their educational journeys," said Bishop, who herself is a 2001 Virginia Milken Educator. "Her innovative teaching, exceptional leadership and passion for nurturing students’ academic and personal growth are some of the ways she embodies a Milken Educator. I am pleased to welcome her to our national network. Congratulations, Vanessa!" 

Smith was honored as part of the Milken Family Foundation's 2024-25 Milken Educator Awards season. The tour will honor up to 45 pioneering professionals coast to coast, marking the 3,000^th Milken Educator in the Awards' ranks and celebrating a history of changing lives in communities across America. Since the presentation of the first Awards in 1987, more than $75 million in individual cash prizes and over $145 million have been invested in the Milken Educator Award national network overall, empowering recipients to "Celebrate, Elevate, and Activate" the K-12 profession and encouraging young, capable people to consider a career in education.

"Vanessa Smith's creative instructional practices not only positively impact her students, but also inspire her fellow educators. Using tailored instructive methods, Smith ensures students' academic needs are met, creating a positive impact on their growth," said North Carolina State Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt. "Her commitment to professional development for educators across Croft Community School uplifts the entire school, its students and future Croft Community Colts. By modeling innovation, collaboration and a relentless dedication to student success, Smith exemplifies the profound value educators like her bring to our schools and communities." 

More about Vanessa Smith 

Fostering Growth with Heart: Smith radiates enthusiasm and warmth while actively engaging her first grade students at Croft. With an emphasis on data-driven practices and whole-child growth, Smith employs creative instructional practices that address each student's educational and social-emotional needs. Through using tailored instructive methods, Smith ensures students' academic needs are met by implementing small group centers and inviting students to solve problems at the board, which creates a significant, positive impact on their growth through peer-based learning. Innovative methods like singing memorable chants and songs establish a solid foundation for literacy and math development that will serve them well as they continue their educational journeys. Students frequently demonstrate increased proficiency and significant growth from the beginning to the end of the school year. 

Leadership in Action: Early in her career, Smith is active in professional development throughout her school and community through mentoring beginning teachers, hosting new and veteran teachers in her classroom for observation and helping the Professional Learning Community (PLC) prepare for Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS), a set of procedures and measures for assessing the acquisition of literacy skills. Smith became the first-ever Teacher in Residence for "Classroom Central," where she represented teachers across North Carolina's southwest region as a teacher leader on the board, making educational decisions that impact her peers while providing a voice for equity in education. As an Extended Impact Teacher in the district's Teacher Leader Pathway Program, Smith successfully completed a rigorous application process and demonstrated consistent, exceptional growth in her students' performance, as reflected by the data. Additionally at the district level, she has presented on the impact of the pandemic in Title I schools. 

Education: Smith is National Board Certified. She earned a Bachelor of Science in elementary and special education from Seton Hall University in 2019. 

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. 

The Milken Educator Award might come to a community near you! Who will be next? Join us as we surprise these remarkable individuals and celebrate their dedication to excellence in education! Follow the 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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