1 min read

Sioux Falls High School Teacher Receives $25K Milken Award

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A Sioux Falls high school teacher has received a $25,000 prize for furthering excellence in education.

Roosevelt High School English teacher Gina Benz received a 2015 Milken Educator Award in a surprise school gathering Tuesday.

Benz teaches advanced placement language and composition as well as foundations of language and composition, a class that includes English language learners and special education students.

Each year, the award from the Milken Family Foundation honors educators nationwide whose contributions generally go unrecognized.

Jane Foley is senior vice president of the Milken Educator Awards. Foley says Benz is known for having “a steady demeanor and is a model of character and integrity.”

Since South Dakota joined the Milken Educator Awards program in 2002, a total of $450,000 has been awarded to 18 South Dakota recipients.