Alexander Carter, a ninth-grade history teacher at C.D. Hylton High School in Woodbridge, today was one of two Virginia teachers to receive a $25,000 award from the Milken Family Foundation.  Milken Educator Awards Senior Vice President Jane Foley and Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction Jo Lynne DeMary presented the award during a surprise assembly at Hylton this afternoon attended by state and county level dignitaries.

“It is exciting to see two Virginia educators receive national recognition,” said DeMary. “Through the Milken Family Foundation National Educator Awards program, these teachers are being recognized as among ‘the best of the best’ in the nation. Too often the excellent efforts of our teachers are overlooked, so I am pleased to have this opportunity today to acknowledge the work of these outstanding educators.”

The Milken Family Foundation National Educator Awards are designed to reward and provide recognition for elementary and secondary school teachers, principals, and administrators who promote excellence and innovation in public education.

Carter is a Social Studies teacher and Chairman of the Social Studies Department at C. D. Hylton Senior High School.  He leads the largest faculty department that teaches the greatest variety of subjects, ranging from required core-curriculum courses to relevant and challenging electives.  In nominating him for the school division’s Teacher of the Year Award in 2002, his colleagues said, “Of all his strengths, his best strength is his knowledge of his subject matter and his ability to teach it.  He loves World History and sees its relevance, and he expects each and every one of his students to love it, too.  He has traveled extensively to other countries and has taken students on study-abroad trips to Quebec, France, and England.”

His former principal, Wayne Mallard, remembers Alex Carter as a student and how he wanted to impact society in a positive manner.  Mallard was convinced Carter would be a wonderful teacher.  Seven years later, in 1995, when Mallard hired him to teach at C. D. Hylton Senior High School, it became apparent to him that Carter has a special gift for teaching and is a natural in the classroom.

“The energy and enthusiasm displayed by Mr. Carter is contagious,” said Michael DeWitt, Assistant Principal at Hylton Senior High School.  “He is an effective and persuasive communicator, and he is well-known for his passionate and inspiring class lectures and debates.  One of the greatest compliments to Mr. Carter is the significant number of Hylton graduates returning to school to visit him in order to share their successes and to express their appreciation,” said DeWitt.

Carter makes his expectations clear from his first meeting with the students.  He expects his students to give 100% in the classroom and will only reward effort of that kind.  He does not reward all efforts, just best efforts.  As a result of his teaching, ninety-seven percent of Carter’s students passed the World History SOL test in the 2001-02 school year. 

Carter is intensely involved with the Center for International Studies and Languages (CISL) specialty program at Hylton Senior High School, providing thoughtful and creative leadership in curriculum planning, design, implementation, and evaluation.  He has visited middle schools and every freshman and sophomore social studies class at Hylton to give presentations on the CISL program.  A former teacher, Walter Bailey, says of Carter:  “He is one of those rare individuals who truly understands how critical teaching is for the future of our society and how education is something far beyond the confines of either a textbook or the classroom.”

Carter holds a bachelor’s degree from James Madison University and a master’s degree from the University of Virginia.  He participated in a two-year study sponsored by the Virginia Department of Education and the Armonk Institute resulting in the publication of Postwar Germany and the Growth of Democracy: A Resource Guide, 1999 (http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/Instruction/History/germany/).  Carter received the school division’s Staff Recognition Award for Performance in 2000. 

According to a new release from the Virginia Department of Education, Carter joins 20 other Virginia teachers who have been recognized with the prestigious Milken Educator Awards since Virginia began participating in 1999.

Educators are recommended for the Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award without their knowledge by a blue-ribbon panel appointed by each participating state’s department of education.  Recipients of the awards are selected on the basis of numerous criteria, including:

•    Exceptional educational talent as evidenced by student achievement and outstanding instructional practices in the classroom, school, and profession;

•    Outstanding accomplishments and strong long-range potential for professional and policy leadership; and

•    Engaging and inspiring presence that motivates and impacts students, colleagues, and the community at-large.

The Milken Family Foundation National Educator Awards were established in 1985.  The awards program, dubbed “the Oscars of Teaching” by Teacher Magazine, is the largest of its kind in the country.  Since the inception of the program, the Milken Family Foundation has distributed more than $46 million in awards to 1,877 educators in 46 states.  This month, 100 new recipients from across the country are being announced in surprise assemblies at their schools.  This year’s award winners will receive their unrestricted $25,000 prizes in May 2004 at the Milken Family Foundation National Education Conference in Washington.  For more information, contact Charles Pyle, Director of Communications, Virginia Department of Education, (804) 371-2420.