Shannon Lamb Recieves a $25,000 Teachers Award

Shannon Lamb, an elementary educator at Kindle Farm School in Newfane,
was surprised at an all-school assembly today with a $25,000 Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award.

Acting Education Commissioner Bill Talbott was on hand to present the award. Academic Director Dana Gordon-Macey convened the visit to the school without disclosing the true purpose, as required by Milken.

An educator at Kindle Farm since 2004, Lamb works with grade 3-6 male students who struggled in traditional mainstream settings due to emotional or behavioral issues. As noted in her nomination, "her magic is that she has transformed their experiences, helping them to believe that they are not the neediest students, but rather the luckiest ones." She is recognized by supervisors, peers and parents for her dedication, optimism and strong instructional practice that lead to success for her students. She worked to develop a school-wide portfolio assessment
system, offers reading and writing workshops, provides professional development to other teachers, and introduces new curriculum to foster learning for all students in the school.

State Departments of Education recommend candidates to the Foundation. This was the fourth year that Vermont has participated in the awards process. Previous years' recipients Susan Hennessey of Harwood Union High School and John Pandolfo of Spaulding High School were on hand for today's event to congratulate Lamb.

Milken Educator Award recipients may use their unrestricted $25,000 award in any way they wish. First awarded in 1987, the Milken Family Foundation National Educator Awards were created to reward, retain and attract the highest quality K-12 educators to the profession. This year Milken awarded 80 new Milken Educator Awards in 48 states and the District of Columbia.

Lamb will also travel to Los Angeles in March to the Milken Educator Awards National Conference.