Article Susan Fotovich McCabe | Photography Susan Motley
The holidays were filled with surprises, and one Shawnee Mis- sion educator got the surprise of her career in November.
The faculty and staff at Shawnee Mission Northwest surprised Associate Principal Lisa Gruman with the news that she was named a Milken National Educator by the Milken Family Foundation. As a Milken National Educator, Lisa received an unrestricted cash award of $25,000.
Lisa, 39, has served as the Associate Principal at Shawnee Mission Northwest for the past seven years. Prior to that, she taught math at the high school level for eight years. Milken Family Foundation Senior Vice Presi- dent Jane Foley was joined by Kansas Commissioner of Education Diane DeBacker, Deputy Commissioner Dale M. Dennis and Shawnee Mission Superintendent Gene Johnson for the award presentation. Other special guests included Congressman Kevin Yoder, Director of Constituent Services and Outreach for Sen. Pat Roberts Kay Sharp, and Kansas State Board of Education members Sue Storm and Janet Waugh. Lisa was unaware she was being considered for the award until Foley revealed the name of the 2011 Milken National Educator to the applause and cheers of a packed gymnasium.
“Prior to the surprise, I had little knowledge of this award,” Lisa says. “As an educator, I was just focused on what I’m doing for Northwest.”
Lisa was one of 40 educators around the country recognized this year with the Milken distinction. She is one of nearly 60 Kansas educators who have received the award since Kansas began participating in the program in 1992. Candidates for the award are early-to mid-career educators who have shown evidence of exceptional educational talent through effective instructional practices and student learning results, and who have shown exemplary educational accomplishments outside of the classroom. The Milken Educator Awards have grown to become the nation’s largest teacher recognition program.
“Our public education system is at the heart of America’s promise and is essential in safeguarding the American dream for future generations,” says Lowell Milken, chairman and co-founder of the Milken Family Foundation. “We created the Milken Educator Awards to proclaim in a very public way that greatness in education must be recognized and rewarded. As the program’s motto extols, the future belongs to the educated.”
Lisa earned her degree from the University of Northern Iowa and actu- ally came to Shawnee Mission to do her student teaching. She liked it so much, she and her husband Dan, who is Shawnee Mission’s Director of Assessment and Research, decided to stay in the area. Lisa and Dan have two children, Hannah, a seventh grader and Noah, a fifth grader.
“Shawnee Mission has always had a reputation for having great schools and I fell in love with it the moment I arrived,” Lisa says.
In her role as associate principal, Lisa oversees the school’s curriculum and instruction, assessment and testing, and most importantly, she says her primary concern is to “prepare students for opportunities and future challenges they will have once they leave Northwest.”
One of Lisa’s more notable projects has been her involvement in bringing the International Baccalaureate program to Northwest. The program allows juniors and seniors an opportunity to earn the IB diploma. To do so, students complete and test in six IB subjects, write an extended essay of independent research guided by a faculty mentor, complete 150 hours of creative, action and service activities and participate in a critical think- ing course called Theory of Knowledge. This advanced, comprehensive program of study offers an integrated approach to learning across the disciplines with an emphasis on meeting the challenges of living and working in a global, technological society.
“It is a privilege to be able to recognize educators like Lisa Gruman,” DeBacker says. “I’m extremely proud of the caliber of educators we have in Kansas and I appreciate the opportunity the Milken Family Founda- tion affords us to recognize individuals who are working so hard on behalf of our students.”
Of course, Lisa says it’s important to note the contributions of all educa- tors and the role they play in encouraging student success.
“Recognizing the importance of a quality teacher on a student’s life is something we need to do more of,” says Lisa. “A thank you goes a long way with a teacher.”
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