Vol. 39, No. 41
November 11, 2005
Bolivar Middle School Principal Wins $25,000 Milken Award
Kevin Lowery, principal of Bolivar Middle School, is a winner of the 2005 Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award, state education officials announced today.
The honor includes an unrestricted cash prize of $25,000.
Commissioner of Education D. Kent King made the surprise announcement of Lowery’s selection during an all-school assembly this afternoon.
Mr. Lowery has been principal of Bolivar Middle School since 1998. This is his 19th year in the profession. He is credited with cultivating a positive school climate focused on raising student achievement.
His colleagues describe him as a visionary leader and an outstanding role model. He is responsible for implementing a number of instructional improvement and school-reform initiatives at Bolivar Middle School. From 1999-2002, the middle school was named a "Top 10 highest-performing school" in Missouri, based on its students’ high scores in one or more areas of the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) exams. Last year, the school was named a MAP "Top 10 most-improved school."
The school also was named a "Gold Star" School by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in 2001. The Central States Center for School Reform recently recognized the school as its "Outstanding School of the Year."
He encourages teachers to take risks and try new teaching methods in the classroom. He developed a master schedule that allows teachers to have extended amounts of time for collaborative work during the school day. This time includes monthly grade-level professional development and data analysis, and weekly grade-level, subject-area planning to align curriculum, instruction and assessment.
Milken National Educator Award
Mr. Lowery is one of two Missouri educators chosen for the award this year by the Milken Family Foundation and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The foundation is based in Santa Monica, Calif.
Missouri joined the Milken Educator Awards program in 1996. Since 1987, the Milken Family Foundation has awarded more than $54 million to 2,100 outstanding American educators.
Mr. Lowery did not know he was being considered for the award. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education coordinates the state-level selection process and appoints an independent panel of educators who recommend candidates for the award. Criteria for the Milken National Educator Award include:
- Exceptional educational talent as evidenced by outstanding instructional practices in the classroom, school and profession;
- Outstanding accomplishment and strong long-range potential for professional and policy leadership; and
- Engaging and inspiring presence that motivates and impacts students, colleagues and the community.
"By recognizing and rewarding outstanding educators each year, we focus the nation’s attention on the critical need to attract, retain and motivate caring, capable people to the American teaching profession," said Lowell Milken, chairman and co-founder of the Milken Family Foundation.
This fall, the Milken Family Foundation will name up to 100 exemplary educators and administrators in public schools in 48 states and the District of Columbia as this year’s recipients of the Milken Educator Awards.