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ASD middle school teacher wins Milken Educator Award

October 19, 2009

Contact: Heidi Embley
ASD Communications
Phone: 907-742-4158
E-mail: embley_heidi@asdk12.org
Web: www.asdk12.org

Bobbi Jo Erb, a math teacher at Mirror Lake Middle School, was awarded the national Milken Educator Award during a surprise ceremony today at the school. Erb will receive $25,000 from the Milken Family Foundation later this spring.

“I put her in the top 1 percent of all educators, partly because of her dedication and sheer ability to inspire students,” said Mirror Lake Principal Scott Batchelder. “She makes math such a practical and understandable thing. She brings the students’ own experiences into her instruction and speaks a language they understand.”

Batchelder, a 2003 Milken Award winner, recalls when he first taught on the same team as Erb, “I realized I was going to have to step up my game several notches. She’s quite the educator.”

To stay current with today’s students, Erb incorporates technology into her classroom. If students have planned absences, Erb sometimes connects with students through Web teleconferencing during the school day so students can receive the benefit of seeing the lesson in the classroom.

Each year, Erb gives all of her students a “math guarantee for life,” where students are free to contact her with any math question. She’s been known to sit down with high school students, college students and even parents of college students to go over math problems in her free time.

“I am honored to have teachers of Bobbi Jo’s caliber in our district,” said Superintendent Carol Comeau. “Her students see her as a role model who loves math and shows them why math is an essential part of many jobs and careers.”

Erb, a Mirror Lake teacher since 1998, is known in the Chugiak/Eagle River community for her love of math and getting other students to feel the same. “She gets every student in contact with her to say, ‘I love math!’ If you’re walking down the street with her, a child will spot her and yell, ‘I love math!’” said Batchelder.

Dubbed the “Oscars of Teaching” by Teacher Magazine, the Milken Educator Awards were created in 1985 to reward, retain and attract the highest caliber professionals to our nation’s schools. A committee formed by the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development identifies and evaluates educators and administrators for the award. The Milken Family Foundation makes the final section based on educational talent, accomplishments beyond the classroom, leadership, and engaging and inspiring presence. The $25,000 awards can be used any way recipients choose. Up to 100 winners nationwide are selected each year. Erb is one of seven ASD teachers who have won the Milken Award since 2000.

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