$25,000 National Educator Awards to Be Presented to 22 African-American Educators.

Business Editors/Education Writers

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 19, 2001

Presentation of Awards to K-12 Educators From Across United States

Highlights Milken National Education Conference --

Teacher Quality: Building on Excellence

On June 26 at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, 22 outstanding African-American educators will each be presented with $25,000 as part of the Milken Family Foundation National Educator Awards.

Collectively, they are a testament to achievement in the face of adversity and the power of education to dramatically alter the human condition. Individually, each has made significant contributions to our nation's schools and the African-American community at-large.

"High-quality educators are critical because they are not only the building blocks of better schools, but the essential ingredient of student success and achievement," said Lowell Milken, chairman and co-founder of the Milken Family Foundation. "We applaud and celebrate the important role our award recipients and all the great educators throughout the nation are playing in our society."

The 22 African-American educators who will be honored in Los Angeles on June 26 are:

-- Kimberly Allen, Prevention Specialist, Cordova Middle School, Phoenix

-- Margaret Andrews, Teacher, Helen W. Grant Elementary School, New Haven,
Conn.

-- Claude Archer, Teacher, Marjory Stoneman Douglas Elementary School, Miami

-- Jamila Banks, Bilingual Teacher, Loreto Street Elementary School, Los
Angeles

-- Sonja Brantley Boone, Teacher, Kreole Elementary School, Moss Point, Miss.

-- Charlotte Chambers-Douglas, Teacher, Cloverdale Elementary School, Dothan,
Ala.

-- Charla Crews, Teacher, Meadville Elementary School, Nathalie, Va.

-- Diane Dunn, Teacher, Hooper Alexander Elementary School, Decatur, Ga.

-- Lori Bean Flemming, Teacher, Una Elementary School, Nashville, Tenn.

-- Dee Fox, Special Education Teacher, Taft Middle School, Oklahoma City

-- Margo Morris Handy, Principal, Pemberton Elementary School, Salisbury, Md.

-- Marcellus Hankins, Teacher, Soldier Creek Elementary School, Midwest City,
Okla.

-- Bill Johnson, Principal, Crowley (Tex.) High School

-- Debora Lassiter, Teacher, John Tyler Elementary School, Portsmouth, Va.

-- Beverly Mathis, Principal, Kermit R. Booker, Sr. Elementary School, Las
Vegas

-- Le Bron McPhail, Principal, Butte Elementary School, Palmer, Alaska

-- Mary Meade-Montaque, Principal, Roosevelt School, Worcester, Mass.

-- Matilda Meador, Teacher, Nichols Junior High School, Arlington, Texas

-- Alberta Porter, Teacher, Riverside Elementary School, Joppa, Md.

-- Joyce Spraggs, Principal, Beaver Ridge Elementary School, Norcross, Ga.

-- Johnettee Walker, Principal, Wilmot Elementary School, North Wilmot, Ark.

-- Lauran Waters-Cherry, Teacher, Santa Fe Elementary School, Oakland, Calif.

This black-tie affair -- which Teacher Magazine calls "the Oscars of Teaching" -- is the culmination of the 12th annual Milken Family Foundation National Education Conference.

Respected annually as one of the premier working conferences in K-12 education, the seminar, themed "Teacher Quality: Building on Excellence," brings together key legislators and state superintendents, hundreds of award-winning educators and other distinguished experts as they explore ways of moving teacher quality issues from advocacy to action.

More than $3.8 million in unrestricted funds will be presented to 155 educators from across the country at this year's event. Established in 1985, the Milken National Educator Awards are designed to recognize excellence in America's elementary and secondary schools and inspire young people to become teachers.

The program is the largest teacher recognition program in the United States, having presented more than $41 million in awards to 1,657 educators in 43 states.

For more information about the National Educator Awards program, or to coordinate an interview with any of these educators, contact the Milken Family Foundation Department of Communications at 310/998-3088, or visit the Foundation's Web site at http://www.mff.org.