Mary Alice Reporting –
A kindergarten teacher at Midvale Elementary has been honored with the 2021-22 Milken Educator Award.
The award recipient’s name was kept secret for some time but was finally revealed by Senior Program Director Greg Gallagher at a Thursday assembly.
Kristen Maurer followed in her parent’s footsteps and has been a teacher for about eight years.
“Completely shocked. It still hasn’t hit me yet that I won that. A prestigious award. Blessed. Very blessed and shocked. My dad is a retired teacher, he retired in 2020, and my mom currently teaches preschool.”
In her classroom, she incorporate Foundations, a reading program for phonics awareness and developed the “Building Better Braves” afterschool program where teachers offer extra help to close achievement gaps.
Maurer also supports her students in after-school activities.
“I always tell parents [to] keep me involved. I go to dance recitals, their t-ball games, their softball games, and I’ll go and watch them and support them.”
Maurer earned her bachelor’s in early childhood education, in 2014, from Ashland University.
As for the Milken Educator Award, it’s a lifetime achievement honor and honors what an educator has done in their current career but also what they will accomplish.
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