Northshore High School alumna and science teacher Kelly Ryan is the first-ever educational ‘Oscar award’ in St. Tammany Parish.

Kelly Ryan receives recognition for Milken Award at St. Tammany School Board meeting

(ST. TAMMANY, LA) The Milken Education Foundation is a non profit organization that was established in 1897 by Lowell Milken. He began the foundation to reward educators and teachers in their early to mid-career. He believed teachers are some of the most important people that need to be recognized in society and should be celebrated. The Milken Foundation has honored 3,000 teachers with the award. 

Ryan received the award on Feb. 7, where she was granted with a $25,000 award. The award honors St. Tammany Parish and Northshore High because it acknowledges the high teaching standards St. Tammany strives to achieve. Ryan graduated from Southeastern Louisiana University in 2009, taught at Southeastern while working on her master's and has taught at Northshore since 2014. 

She said her love for teaching began when she taught freshman biology labs at Southeastern. Ryan has been at Northshore High for nine years and is currently a chemistry and AP Environmental Science teacher. She said returning to teach at her alma mater feels personal to her.

“I’ve always enjoyed the academic realm, I enjoy teaching and just fell into it. There are a lot of personal investments that I made since I went to school here. I work here and my son will be a student here. So, it’s not just a job for me… It’s the school I went to, where my son is going to go, and where I live,” Ryan said.

The Milken Education Foundation is a non profit organization that was established in 1897 by Lowell Milken. He began the foundation to reward educators and teachers in their early to mid-career. He believed teachers are some of the most important people that need to be recognized in society and should be celebrated. The Milken Foundation has honored 3,000 teachers with the award. 

Sydnee Flotron, 23, Milken Foundation’s media relations coordinator, said one of their biggest mottos is to celebrate, elevate and activate the K-12 profession in America.

“The awards were created with the mindset of bringing recognition to teachers to not only recognize what they’ve done in their careers so far but to serve as catalysts and inspire future generations of teachers,” Flotron said. 

Ryan’s award reflects the Milken Foundation’s expectations of being an educator who acts as a mentor by displaying leadership inside and outside the classroom. The educator award also recognizes Ryan’s strong community involvement and student engagement while in early to mid-career. Ryan said she believes, for science especially, that it's the teachers who provide hands-on learning that you remember the most and push you to do your best.

“The teachers I remember are the ones that really challenged me and pushed me out of my comfort zone to be better. I try to incorporate a lot of hands-on labs in my science classes because that is what the kids like the best. When you’re hands-on, and physically doing something it's going to solidify in your mind better than if you’re just taking notes,” Ryan said

She is still having a hard time processing the award because she didn’t consider herself to be the recipient and she has moments where she questions why she was selected over other great teachers at Northshore High.

“It was a motivation for me and almost a reality check, and I feel like I need to live up to this honor. I don’t want them to regret giving me this and I’m going to give my 100% every day. I wouldn’t be where I am today without being inspired or helped by other teachers,” Ryan said.

Ryan is Northshore High’s sponsor for the National Honor Society and is on the Instructional Leader Team, which consists of teachers who are also heads of their department. The team’s goal is to better Northshore High academically. She is the chair of the science department at Northshore and her responsibility is to run meetings and organize ACT Prep. 

Ryan is also the coordinator of Northshore’s senior trip and she coaches the middle school robotics team. She says it’s the most time-consuming, and started when her son was in middle school. However, she said she continues to be involved because she loves it, to the point where she started an underwater robotics team at Northshore High. 

“I’m proud of that because there are only two teachers on the committee in the whole district of St. Tammany, and I’m one of them. So, once every few months we meet at the central office and our goals are to implement ACT prep throughout the whole district to help raise our scores,” Ryan said. 

She added a reason why she questions the award is because she knows other teachers go above and beyond for their students too, and while she works very hard and tries to exceed expectations in everything she does, other teachers could say the same. Ryan also said she believes that the expectations are higher now that she’s won the award and that some might see her as the “perfect.” teacher to her, though, it doesn't feel that way. 

Educators cannot apply and are unaware of their candidacy as they are sourced through a confidential selection process and reviewed by blue ribbon panels appointed by state departments of education. The most exceptional are recommended for the award, with final approval by the Milken Foundation. They look for teachers in their early to mid career for various reasons including to inspire the rest of their careers going forward. 

“I go above and beyond to make connections with the kids because if you connect with them and they respect you, they’re going to want to learn and be engaged in any lesson that you give them. I believe that in any subject. I believe that if I have the class that has 100 percent faith in me as their teacher, I can teach them anything and they can try their best to learn it. It’s all about maintaining high standards,” Ryan said.

For any further interests about the Milken Foundation, you can reach their website at https://www.mff.org/ or contact Sydnee Flotron at s.flotron@mff.org 

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