Hutto teacher wins prestigious prize Milken Educator Award called the 'Oscars of teaching'
HUTTO — A veteran teacher at Howard Norman Elementary School went to the head of the class Tuesday after learning she is the only instructor in Texas to win the prestigious Milken Educator Award.
Kindergarten instructor Olivia Joseph, who was lauded in a surprise ceremony that featured dignitaries, cheerleaders and a drumline, also learned the honor comes with a $25,000 stipend.
Howard Norman Elementary School kindergarten teacher Olivia Joseph (second from left) poses with her Milken Educator Award that includes a $25,000 stipend. Also pictured is Hutto Independent School District Superintendent Jeni Neatherlin (left), Precinct 4 Commissioner Russ Boles, school board trustee Billie Logiudice, Williamson County Judge Steven Snell, school board Vice President FelixChavez and state Commissioner of Education Mike Morath.
Teachers do not apply and are not nominated for the Milken Educator Award, officials said. Instead, the Milken Foundation searches for the “best of the best teachers throughout the entire country,” said Milken Educator Award Vice President Jennifer Fuller.
And they found Joseph.
“I am overwhelmed, I’m appreciative and I’m so grateful,” Joseph said. “This is the best.
It’s what I’ve always wanted to do, to be a teacher.”
Having the sole award recipient in Texas speaks volumes about the Hutto Independent School District, said Superintendent Jeni Neatherlin.
“We have excellent teaching happening in our school system,” she added.
Joseph is also a graduate of Hutto High School and has taught kindergarten at Norman for nine years.
“We must be doing something right,” Neatherlin added.
Fuller, a former Texas teacher, said the Milken Educator Award celebrates and recognizes superb instructors.
“We believe (teaching) is the most important profession because (educators) are preparing the whole world to be successful,” Fuller said.
Joseph will attend a conference with other Milken winners this summer in Washington, D.C.
The district surprised Joseph and her fellow staffers at the April 7 event because Norman was also celebrating its designation as A Leader in Me Lighthouse school, which implements Stephen Covey’s “7 Habits of Happy Kids” from his original book “7 Habits of Highly Effective People.”
It takes two to three years of implementing the “Leader in Me” framework to receive the designation.
VIP attendees at the events included Mike Morath, commissioner of the Texas Education Agency; state Rep. Caroline Harris Davila; Williamson County Judge Steven Snell; Precinct 4 Commissioner Russ Boles; and members of the school board.
Lowell Milken, an entrepreneur and philanthropist, in 1987 created the award hailed as “the Oscars of teaching,” according an online history.
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“It’s what I’ve always wanted to do, to be a teacher.”
— Olivia Joseph
