2 teachers in state win $25,000 Milken award

LITTLE ROCK — Standing at the far end of the full gymnasium with fellow faculty members at Bob Courtway Middle School in Conway, eighth-grade English teacher Corey Oliver had no inkling that he was about to be named a recipient of a nationally prestigious award for excellence in teaching.

Even when philanthropist Michael Milken directed student volunteers to hold up placards showing the amount of the $25,000 Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award and students were pounding the bleachers in anticipation of hearing the winner's name, Oliver didn't get it.

"The numbers were sounding good to me," said Oliver, 34, an 11-year teacher, recalled after the ceremony. "But honestly I had no idea it would be me."

When his name was read over the din, Oliver - who was wearing a tie-dyed Bob Courtway school T-shirt - walked slowly to the podium rubbing his eyes and face as he made his way forward to hug many of the school, district, state and business dignitaries on hand for the surprise.

"First of all I want to say to the students who I interact with on a daily basis that the reason I get up every morning and my reason for staying here until 12, or 1 or 2 in the morning sometimes is you all," Oliver told the crowd, adding that he believes teaching is an art.

"I'm happy to do it every day. I'm excited about getting in my truck every day and make my way to Bob Courtway."

Oliver and Margaret Lockhart, a literacy coach and chairman of the English Department at Lingle Middle School in Rogers School District, are the state's two winners this year of the Milken Award, which in addition to the unrestricted cash prize includes a trip next spring to a national educators conference that will be capped by a gala awards ceremony plus a career-long affiliation with the Milken foundation and the teacher-training programs it provides.

Gov. Mike Beebe was on hand at the ceremony in Rogers.

In Northwest Arkansas, Lockhart broke into tears as she hugged Beebe while 800 Lingle pupils roared in the background. The crowd, packed into Lingle's gymnasium, exploded moments earlier when five pupils held up placards that read "25,000," and Beebe called out Lockhart's name.

"I just couldn't even believe that this was going to someone here in Rogers, at my school," Lockhart said afterward. "It was a total surprise."

Since 1987, the Milken foundation has awarded more than $54 million to about 2,300 recipients nationally. In Arkansas, $1.5 million has gone to 60 Arkansas recipients.

Financier Michael Milken is co-founder of the foundation with his brother Lowell Milken, who is the foundation chairman.

"Our message is a clear one," Michael Milken said in Conway about the awards and recognition program. "Teachers are among the most important people in your community, and what your community is going to be is a function of the teachers in the schools."

Jerry Whitmore, principal of Bob Courtway Middle School, has been in on the planning for the award to Oliver since last spring.

"He's just a great, great, great, dedicated person," Whitmore said of the man hired as a first-year teacher when the school opened 11 years ago. "He teaches from the heart. His students perform well on tests. He knows how to teach the material and get students to respond."

Oliver graduated from Little Rock's Hall High School and aspired at that time to become a pediatrician because of his interest in working with young people. As a third-year student at the University of Central Arkansas, however, Oliver said he took an education course and "Iwas hooked immediately."

He has bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Central Arkansas, and last year he earned national certification in English for early adolescence from the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards.

Still in a daze and hoarse with emotion, Oliver, who is single, said after the student assembly that he might use the money to expand his travel experiences. Having already been to Japan, Russia and China on various education-related tours, he said he may take a trip to someplace new - possibly Australia.

Rebecca Hill, one of Oliver's eighth-grade students, was in agreement with those who selected Oliver for the Milken Award.

"He's wonderful," she said. "He's funny, he's quick. He's very good to hold a conversation with. He always knows the exact way to catch our attention with things. He's never too mean to us. He's the perfect amount of everything."

Lockhart has deep roots in the Rogers School District, where she has worked for 16 years. She graduated from Rogers High School. Five family members also work in the district and her sixth-gradeson, Nick, attends Lingle.

As a literacy coach, she runs special classes where she works with students who struggle to read and write.

She also spends time analyzing testing data and working with other teachers to write lesson plans that target their students' individual weaknesses.

Principal Mary Elmore said Lockhart has helped keep the middle school's reading scores solid despite growth in the number of at-risk students at Lingle.

About 52 percent of the school's sixth- and seventh-grade students come from low-income families. About 44 percent do not speak English fluently.

Yet, 71 percent of sixth-graders and 69 percent of seventhgraders scored at grade level in literacy on the Benchmark Exams in April. That is up from 68 percent and 67 percent respectively in 2006.

Lockhart's "Bubble Kids" program has helped boost scores, Elmore said.

The program assigns mentor teachers to students who scored just below grade level on standardized tests.

The mentor teachers offer their bubble kids tutoring and friendship. Some took their bubble kids to Rogers High School football games this year, Elmore said.

Yesenia Hueramo, 11, is in a 15-student literacy remediation class with Lockhart on Wednesdays.

Yesenia said she struggled to structure her writing properly before Lockhart's class.

Now she knows that all her essays must contain the five W's: "who, what, when, where and why," Yesenia said.

Mark Sparks, Rogers deputy superintendent and former principal at Lingle, said that Lockhart is the best teacher he has ever worked with because she has the ability to get her students excited about learning.

"That's what I call the art of being a teacher," he said. "Anyone can talk about what you are supposed to do, but it's how teachers connect with kids that makes all the difference."