VINTON (WSLS 10) - A big surprise for a Roanoke County teacher who was recognized at W.E. Cundtiff Elementary with a national award called the Milken Educator Award. It's been called the Oscars of Teaching.
Lindsay Murray was shocked as her name was called Wednesday morning at a school assembly.
Recommended Videos
"This is such a blessing and I'm so privileged to have received this award and I can't thank them enough for it," said Murray.
The Milken Award recognizes teachers, principals and specialists across the country furthering excellence in education. There is no formal nomination or application process, instead candidates are found and reviewed by a team.
"Teachers don't get honored. We'd like to do it 100,000 times for every teacher in Virginia but we can't. So when we get the chance you get up in the morning and you're excited because you know a teacher is going to be recognized for the hard work that hundreds of thousands of teachers are doing every day," said Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Steven Staples who was in Roanoke County for the presentation.
Murray is a 4th grade teacher who puts a big emphasis on STEM and has taken a leadership role in making project-based learning a priority.
Big surprise as a Roanoke County teacher wins $25,000 and the Milken Educator Award. Congrats to 4th grade Cundiff Elementary's Lindsay Murray: http://wp.me/p5MgcC-1nev
Posted by Jenna Zibton on Wednesday, December 7, 2016
"Once I learned about STEM I tried to get it off and running in my classroom from the get-go because that's the way of the future and I know that's what our kids are going to need to be successful in their lives and so I tried to take it, run with it and do what I can do to prepare my students to be great citizens and great employees for their future employers," said Murray.
"I don't typically like school but she's a good teacher. I like what she does. We're starting STEM today. She makes it fun with learning," said Becca Radford, W.E. Cundiff 4th grade student in Murray's class.
Milken Educator Awards Senior Vice President Dr. Jane Foley presented Murray with the Award.
"Science, technology and engineering are tools that unlock a student's mind and future," said Foley. "Lindsay Murray recognizes this important responsibility and inspires her students every day to develop the skills they need to help build the world and the life they want—no matter what challenges they may face."
Murray is the only teacher in Virginia being honored this year with the $25,000 dollar check but she joins 42 others in Virginia who have won since 1999.
"This is just a great honor. I work at a wonderful school with a wonderful staff and I just feel so privileged that of all the wonderful people that I work with I was chosen to get this award," said Murray.
She is one of 35 people across the country being honored this year.
----
News release from Milken Family Foundation:
Santa Monica, Calif. (December 7, 2016)—You're never too young to jumpstart a career in engineering. At least if you're in fourth-grade teacher Lindsay Murray's class at W.E. Cundiff Elementary School in Vinton, Virginia. Yet Murray had no knowledge that an all-school assembly was engineered in her honor until her name was called to accept the prestigious Milken Educator Award. Murray was recognized for her commitment to students, colleagues and the community as the newest recipient of the $25,000 cash award, hailed by Teacher magazine as the "Oscars of Teaching."
Milken Educator Awards Senior Vice President Dr. Jane Foley presented Murray with the Award, and was joined by Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Steven R. Staples.
"Science, technology and engineering are tools that unlock a student's mind and future," said Foley. "Lindsay Murray recognizes this important responsibility and inspires her students every day to develop the skills they need to help build the world and the life they want—no matter what challenges they may face."
"Lindsay is a classroom innovator who challenges her students to be problem solvers and to excel in all of their subjects," Staples said. "She has been recognized by her peers as an exceptional educator and as a leader since the beginning of her teaching career."
Always lending a helping hand while promoting hands-on learning, Lindsay Murray encourages her students to become productive problem-solvers. She blends STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) with project-based learning skills to meet and exceed state requirements and has even launched several student research projects to encourage more practical learning. Murray holds her students to high standards, pushing them to succeed in all academic areas while giving them the tools necessary to do so.
Whether for enrichment or remediation, Murray's instruction is timely and specific to each child's needs—an important skill set in a school where mainstreamed special education students make up a quarter of the student body at Cundiff, a pre-K‒5 Title I school.
Her influence is reflected in the school's assessments: Cundiff students surpass state Standards of Learning (SOL) in both math and reading, with Murray's students scoring 10-15% higher than school averages. Still, Murray makes it clear to students, families and colleagues that she considers test scores only one indicator of success, aiming to inspire lifelong learning in students.
Her expertise and influence extend statewide as well. Murray was instrumental in the implementation of the Virginia Children's Engineering program, which is now part of the curriculum throughout the region's elementary schools. She has presented at the state level on teaching engineering and science to children and serves on the district's STEM committees, the Alternative Assessment Development Committee, the Committee for Creating Third Grade Alternate Science Assessment, Math Curriculum Writing Committee and the Community Advisory Committee.
At the school level, she has served as her grade-level chair since 2012, is the school's science representative, and represents the faculty in Cundiff's PTA. A skilled community relationship-builder, Murray regularly updates parents to keep them engaged in classroom activities. It's part and parcel of a multi-pronged primary education strategy that's truly engineered for success.
Murray earned a bachelor's in interdisciplinary liberal studies in 2007 and a master's in education (pre-K–6) in 2008 from James Madison University.