Toni Ann Palmisano ’09 Wins Milken Educator Award

Toni Ann Palmisano has been named a 2017-2018 recipient of the prestigious Milken Educator Award, which carries an unrestricted, $25,000 cash prize. Palmisano, a seventh-grade mathematics teacher at Secaucus Middle School, is the second Milken Educator Award winner from New Jersey this year, and is among 44 honorees of the national award for this academic year.

The Milken Educator Awards, hailed by Teacher magazine as the "Oscars of Teaching," has been opening minds and shaping futures for 30 years. Research shows teacher quality is the driving in-school factor behind student growth and achievement. The initiative not only aims to reward great teachers, but to celebrate, elevate and activate those innovators in the classroom who are guiding America's next generation of leaders. Milken Educators believe, "The future belongs to the educated."

Engaging students through any available means, Palmisano's expertise extends beyond math jams and deploying multimedia assets in the classroom to include extracurricular activities like student government and the school yearbook. A mentor for novice teachers and a seasoned veteran who helped rewrite the district's math curriculum, she is not only helping create well-rounded students but also a more well-rounded school.

"Toni-Ann Palmisano leads by doing, giving students practical hands-on experience with real world mathematics," said Foley. "Her focus on the whole student and, by extension, the complete educational experience is what brings her subject to life and lights a fire in her young math students that can last a lifetime. It is the kind of inspirational leadership we love to see in our Milken Educators."