Published on November 26, 2024

Elaine Hill ’17 receives Milken Educator Award

Eastern alumna Elaine Hill ’17 received one of the nation’s most prestigious education awards, the Milken Educator Award, on Jan. 12 in a surprise assembly at her elementary school in Waterbury. The award includes $25,000 to spend however she chooses.

Hill is a fourth-grade teacher at the Academic Academy, a school-within-a-school for gifted students in fourth through eighth grade at Michael F. Wallace Middle School in Waterbury.

Up to 40 elementary school educators nationwide will receive the award during the 2022-23 school year. Hill will also have the opportunity to join the national Milken Educator Network, which includes more than 2,900 exceptional K-12 teachers and leaders. Honorees receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Los Angeles for the Milken Educator Awards Forum this April.

“One of the primary qualities of a Milken educator is excellence in the classroom, and as a founding member of the Academic Academy with wraparound support, Elaine Hill's challenging programming and high expectations have helped students reach their greatest potential,” said Jane Foley, a 1994 Indiana Milken Educator and the Milken Educator Awards senior vice president.

Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz and Connecticut Commissioner of Education Charlene Russell-Tucker presented Hill with the prestigious award. “I was in complete shock when the announcement was made,” said Hill. “The staff, students and I were not aware of the purpose of the assembly or what would be announced.”

Hill, a founding member of the Gifted Student Program at the academy, believes in laying an educational foundation conducive to student growth. “I approach teaching elementary school with the belief that all students must be supported, believed in, respected and held to the highest standards in order for them to reach their full potential,” she said.

Written by Noel Teter