Springdale teacher selected as national educator

The Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award, which includes a $25,000 prize, is the largest national teacher recognition program in the United States. Milken Family Foundation Chairman and Co-founder Lowell Milken created these awards in 1985 to recognize, celebrate and attract the highest caliber school professionals. Since the program`s inception, more than $54 million in cash prizes have been awarded to 2,100-plus educators. In Arkansas, the Foundation has awarded $1.5 million to 60 recipients since the program began. Minkel, a third grade teacher at Jones Elementary, has taught in the Springdale School District for two years. He was graduated from Fayetteville High School in 1996 and then earned a bachelor of arts degree from Cornell University in 2000, where he graduated summa cum laude. He earned a master`s in elementary education from the University of California at Berkeley in 2004. While at Berkeley, he also earned a certificate for teaching English as a Second Language. This year, Minkel`s class has 25 students, 19 of whom come from homes in which Spanish is the native language. As a whole, Jones Elementary School`s student population consists of 93 percent poverty students and 85 percent minority students. (Copyright 2006 Newsroom Solutions, LLC)