I am writing to you today with incredible enthusiasm. During a surprise ceremony with Governor Chafee, Board of Education Chair Mancuso, and Commissioner Gist, the Milken Foundation's Dr. Jane Foley recognized Marielle Emet as the 2013-2014 Rhode Island Milken Educator.
The Milken Educator Awards are akin to the Oscars for the movies or the Grammys for music. This award is the closest thing to an Olympic gold medal for teachers. The Milken Foundation's Milken Educator is awarded an unrestricted cash prize of $25,000. According to the Milken Foundation, "This award is about bringing attention to these classroom heroes; serving at once as validation, motivation and inspiration to current and future quality educators. The message: We recognize you. We value you. We thank you."
Ms. Emet is a founding math teacher with us at Blackstone Valley Prep Mayoral Academy. Ms. Emet began her career in education in 2006 through Teach For America in Baltimore. In 2010, Ms. Emet moved to Rhode Island when her husband entered a doctoral program at Brown University. Ms. Emet joined the BVP team as a founding middle school math teacher, and four years later remains in the classroom while also serving as BVP's academic dean. Moreover, Ms. Emet serves as a leader of professional development across the entire BVP network and with our other charter and district partners.
Under Ms. Emet's teacher leadership, BVP Middle School, a Title 1 School, has delivered astounding gains. In reading and mathematics, BVP is among the leaders in the state. To be sure, the 8th graders that Ms. Emet has taught have shown absolute progress and growth results that are among the very highest in the entire state -- on par with the most affluent districts in Rhode Island. It is also important to recognize that this is the result of the hard work of every teacher at BVP, and Ms. Emet proudly carried the torch for them today.
Please join me in congratulating Ms. Emet by sending her a personal message of congratulations here! To learn more about our work or to find out how you can be involved, check out our website www.blackstonevalleyprep.org or reach out to me personally at [email protected].
Most sincerely,
