Fulton educator wins ‘Oscar' of the teaching world
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
What started Tuesday morning as an academic pep rally quickly turned into one teacher's surprise of a lifetime, as the Milken Family Foundation named Fulton County's Gregory Ott one of its national teachers of the year.
Ott, who teaches seventh-grade language arts at Northwestern Middle School, is the foundation's only Georgia winner. The honor comes with an award of $25,000. The money has no strings attached, so Ott can spend it any way he wants.
The Milken awards, given out since 1987, are considered the Oscars of the teaching world. Fifty-three teachers nationwide have been selected for the honor this year.
What makes the award such a surprise is that there's no formal application process. Instead, names and success stories get passed along by word of mouth to a committee of educators in each state. That committee then investigates the good work, and passes on a recommendation to the foundation.
Fulton teacher Wendy McCarron, a math teacher at Northview High School, won a Milken in 2007.
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