Cassandra Batson is the principal of the middle school at the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, Maryland, and on Friday was one of just a handful nationwide who received one of her profession’s most prestigious awards.
The Milken Educator Award is handed out to just 25 educators across the county each year and comes with a $25,000. Batson was the only winner from Maryland and the rest of the D.C. region this year.
Batson worked as a classroom teacher and STEM coordinator at Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School before becoming an administrator. The Milken Family Foundation credited Batson with fostering a collaborative culture and pioneering STEM initiatives, such as fellowships, seminars, schoolwide events and an extracurricular club.
Businessman and philanthropist Lowell Milken was at the school Friday morning to surprise Batson, and the entire Charles E. Smith community, with the award.
He told WTOP they are looking for “educators who have truly distinguished themselves” to give the award to. Recipients don’t apply and they aren’t nominated; the Milken Family Foundation does its own research to find the best of the best in the country.
Milken describes it as “the Oscar of teaching.”
Jonathan Levy is head of school at Charles E. Smith and said Batson “is an incredible role model and an incredible leader for the school.”
It’s a popular sentiment in the halls of the school.
“Ms. Batson is one of the best educators I’ve known my entire life!” said Lindsay, one of her former students.
“I am in utter shock,” Batson told WTOP after wiping away tears that came when she learned she’d received the award. “I feel very, very lucky to be part of this community.”
She said she knew from an early age that she wanted to work with young people, but she wasn’t always sure what direction that would take her.
“I wanted to make a difference, I really did. I knew I wanted to work with kids. I thought I wanted to be a pediatrician, and the second I stepped foot in a classroom, I was like, ‘Oh, this is where I belong.’”
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