[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Page 14649]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     CONGRATULATING DOUGLAS HUTTON

  Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, today I wish to honor Douglas Hutton, 
recipient of the 2011 Milken Educator Award. He is the first teacher 
from Glastonbury High School to have ever received this prestigious 
award and the only educator from Connecticut to be awarded last year by 
the Milken Family Foundation.
  Since 1985, the Milken Family Foundation--under the leadership of 
education visionary Lowell Milken and his family--has given thousands 
of Milken Educator Awards to top innovators of elementary and secondary 
education across the country. Whether teachers, principals, or 
specialists, these honorees are an exclusive group of experts who 
contribute every day to the critical debate on how we can make our 
Nation's schools better spaces for learning, growth, and the sparking 
of lifelong interests. One of the Milken Family Foundation's 
initiatives--through the Lowell Milken Center--is distinguishing 
``unsung heroes that have changed the course of history.'' And so with 
the Milken Educator Award, we acknowledge our Nation's dedicated 
educators who are not usually spotlighted but conscientiously work to 
help turn ideas, thoughts, and questions into interests, passions, and 
projects.
  Mr. Hutton has taught physics for 19 years, serving 17 of them at 
Glastonbury High School in Glastonbury, CT. He illuminates abstract 
concepts that are difficult to grasp, sharing his love of Stephen 
Hawkins, science, and math with his students. Through practical 
demonstrations, group projects, and experiments, he shows that problem-
solving is challenging but rewarding. Mr. Hutton has said that teaching 
``all comes down to seeing [the students'] eyes light up when they 
understand a new idea.''
  Mr. Hutton did not apply for this award but was selected by a panel 
of education experts who, each year, seek out unsung teachers who 
demonstrate potential for and proven success in the classroom, engage 
in national discourse on academia, and convey an ``engaging and 
inspiring presence that motivates and impacts students, colleagues, and 
the community.''
  The Milken Family Foundation makes education a shared national 
agenda, connecting educators with other sectors of our society. The 
foundation's multifaceted and interdisciplinary approach brings 
business, government, and philanthropic leaders together in the quest 
for innovative, realistic, and well-tested teaching methodology. 
Through programs administered by the Milken Family Foundation's 
National Institute for Excellence in Teaching, NIET, such as the System 
for Teacher and Student Advancement and the NIET Best Practices Center, 
the Milken Educator Award regards our Nation's best early to mid-level 
teachers as policy figures who can contribute their practical knowledge 
on a national stage.
  The Milken Family Foundation and especially Douglas Hutton, now a 
member of the Milken community, deserve thanks for restoring faith in 
our educational system. I invite my Senate colleagues to join me in 
congratulating Mr. Hutton, who has contributed to the lives of our 
young people in lasting, significant ways.

                          ____________________