2006 Milken Family Foundation National Educator Awards
October 12, 2006
Video Transcript

Narrator
It is not often someone gets to organize their own surprise party. The principal of Charlottesville’s Burnley-Moran Elementary School was told to organize an assembly so the state superintendent could congratulate the school for its success on the SOLs. What Daphne Keiser didn’t know was that the real purpose of the assembly was to announce that Keiser is one of two Virginia educators this year to receive a $25-thousand dollar National Educator Award from the Milken Family Foundation.

Daphne Keiser, 2006 Milken Award Winner
Absolute surprise, absolute surprise, I had no idea. This is for our school. Although the check was presented to me it is for our school, for our students, and for our staff.

Rosa S. Atkins, Superintendent, Charlottesville Public Schools
Daphne is a leader in every sense of the word. In education, her commitment is to students and the focus is on students but she is also focused on building teams – teams within the school, among her teachers, and in the community to get the best of every person so that the students will benefit.

Narrator
The surprise was also complete at Chalkley Elementary School in Chesterfield County, where fifth-grade English teacher Joshua Cole learned that he too is a 2006 Milken National Educator Award winner.

Joshua Cole, 2006 Milken Award Winner
I was flabbergasted – absolutely. My thinking was that with all the recognition that Chalkley has received in the past year I honestly thought that this award was going to be distributed to the entire staff somehow, it was going to be a presentation for our entire teaching staff somehow. That is what I was expecting, for us all to be recognized, so when it was just me, I was flabbergasted.

Ed Walent, Principal, Chalkley Elementary School
Mr. Cole has been here – this is his fifth year – and he is truly and exceptional teacher. Creative in the classroom, motivates students; they all become part of a community – his team so to speak,

Virginia is one of 48 states participating in the Milken awards program. Since 1999, 27 teachers and other educators in the commonwealth have received the $25-thousand dollar prizes.