[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Pages 3353-3354]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO WILLIAM KING

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize an innovative 
educator from my home State of Kentucky--Mr. William King--who, earlier 
this month, was awarded the prestigious Milken Education Award.
  If you were to ask William King about his occupation, he may not 
respond that he is a ``teacher'' or ``educator.'' Instead, he is more 
inclined to give himself the label of ``educational entrepreneur.'' 
That's because in his 12 years in education, Mr. King has been 
relentless in his search to find new and better ways to educate our 
Nation's schoolchildren.
  In his current capacity as freshman principal at Bowling Green High 
School--his alma mater--William is charged with shepherding his 
students through the all-important transition from middle to high 
school. King has spearheaded initiatives such as TeachMeet Kentucky and 
TeachMeet Nashville--which are informal meetings where teachers gather 
to share ideas and best practices--and No Office Day, where school 
administrators spend an entire day with students in the classroom. It 
is his Jump Start program, however, that has earned him one of, if not 
the most, prestigious awards in education--the Milken Education Award.
  William created Jump Start to help better prepare students to excel 
in their first year of high school. Now, I face a lot of challenges 
here in the Senate, but few are more trying than those faced by a 
teenager who is about to enter high school. Mr. King not only 
recognized just how daunting this transition can be for students, but 
he also had the ability and the selfless inclination to do something 
about it.
  With his innovative program, King works with students and parents and 
also coordinates between eighth- and ninth-grade teachers to ensure 
that his kids are prepared for the academic challenges they are about 
to face.
  The Milken Education Award is a prestigious one; it is not given out 
just for good intentions. Wining an ``Oscar of Teaching,'' as it's 
known by teachers across the country, requires results--and William 
King unquestionably delivers results. Since implementing Jump Start, 
ninth-grade retentions have dropped by 68 percent. For this, he was 
recognized with the Milken Education Award, as well as $25,000 to spend 
as he chooses, at a surprise assembly at Bowling Green High School.
  Lowell Milken, chairman and co-founder of the Milken Family 
Foundation, once said, ``A sound education provides the opportunity to 
realize one's potential.'' William King has shown that he is 
wholeheartedly dedicated to this proposition, and that he is deserving 
of praise from this body. I ask that my Senate colleges join me in 
recognizing this exemplary Kentucky citizen.
  The Park City Daily News recently published an article highlighting 
William's work and his award. I ask unanimous consent that the full 
article be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the article was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

             [From the Park City Daily News, Feb. 12, 2014]

                    Educator Receives $25,000 Award

                            (By Chuck Mason)

       A Bowling Green High School administrator who graduated as 
     a BGHS Purple in 1996 got the surprise of his life Wednesday 
     morning.
       Freshman Principal William King received a Milken Educator 
     Award and $25,000 he can spend any way he wants. His Jump 
     Start program working with freshman has reduced by 68 percent 
     the number of BGHS freshmen who do not pass.
       ``I had no clue,'' said King after the ceremony. ``I had a 
     list of all these names (of BGHS teachers) in my head (who 
     could be receiving the award). ``It could have been anyone on 
     our staff.''
       King also has been instrumental in holding TeachMeet 
     seminars, which are informal meetings for teachers to share 
     best practices of how they use technology in their 
     classrooms, at Western Kentucky University, in Nashville and 
     other locations in the United States.
       The Milken Educator Award, called the ``Oscars of 
     Teaching'' by Teacher Magazine, was presented as the cheers 
     of 1,200 students bounced off walls of the high school's 
     arena. Many of the students cheering King have been under his 
     leadership since they first entered the school halls four 
     years ago. King was told the assembly was to honor the 
     academic accomplishments of BGHS students, and it started 
     that way before Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry 
     Holliday took the microphone to make remarks and then 
     introduced Jane Foley, senior vice president of the Milken 
     Family Foundation. Foley made the surprise announcement that 
     King is Kentucky's 2014 Milken Educator Award winner, after 
     telling the students first how much the award was worth and 
     that one educator in the arena was to receive it.

[[Page 3354]]

       ``We welcome you to our family of excellence,'' said Foley, 
     who received her own Milken Educator Award in 1994.
       Three south-central Kentucky educators previously received 
     a Milken Educator Award, which was created in 1987.
       King was surprised during the morning assembly. Principal 
     Gary Fields said it was a challenge to keep the announcement 
     secret from King. The winner said he wasn't even sure he was 
     supposed to be in the arena that morning for the academic 
     assembly. Fields read a lengthy list of BGHS students who 
     excelled in academics, at one point, turning to Holliday and 
     remarking, ``commissioner, I'm only halfway through the 
     list.''
       King, who monitors teacher and student success, founded the 
     Jump Start program, in which teachers and parents ensure 
     incoming freshmen are ready for high school. King spent a 
     dozen years as an educator, including as an instructional 
     assistant, social studies teacher, curriculum coordinator, 
     literacy coach and freshman principal. He's a 1996 BGHS 
     graduate and an Eagle Scout.
       King ``always comes into our social studies class and talks 
     with us,'' said Savannah Hanson, a junior at BGHS. She said 
     the Milken Family Foundation made a good choice in honoring 
     King.
       Since 1987, the foundation has awarded more than $64 
     million to nearly 2,600 kindergarten through 12th-grade 
     educators across the United States in awards. Total funding 
     for the program, which includes resources for the winning 
     educators, is more than $136 million. Fifty-two Kentucky 
     teachers have received the award since 1993.
       ``A sound education provides the opportunities to realize 
     one's potential, which is why the future belongs to the 
     educated,'' Lowell Milken, chairman and co-founder, said in 
     grant program information. ``Effective education equips each 
     new generation with the knowledge and skills to make sound 
     and independent judgments, as well as proceed to the next 
     stage in learning and in life.''
       The Milken awards were conceived to attract, retain and 
     motivate talented people in the teaching profession.
       Foley said the Milken Educator Award is not one that 
     teachers or administrators can apply for. ``We don't accept 
     nominations. You don't find us, we find you,'' Foley said.
       ``Not an accolade for lifetime achievement or the 
     proverbial gold watch at the exit door, the Milken Educator 
     Awards targets early- to mid-career education professionals 
     for their already impressive achievements and, more 
     significantly, for the promise of what they will accomplish 
     in the future,'' the website noted.
       Accompanying Holliday and Foley was Madeline Abramson, wife 
     of Kentucky Lt. Governor Jerry Abramson.
       After the award was announced, the students did a rousing 
     chant with a Bowling Green Purples theme, clapping their 
     hands in staccato fashion, then stamping their feet.
       ``There's no way I can top that,'' said Holliday, taking 
     the microphone once again. Looking at King, the commissioner 
     added, ``What an honor for Bowling Green High School and 
     Kentucky.''
       Milken award winners have exceptional educational talent as 
     evidenced by effective instructional practices and student-
     learning results in the classroom and school; have exemplary 
     educational accomplishments beyond the classroom that provide 
     models of excellence for the profession; are individuals 
     whose contributions to education are largely unheralded yet 
     worthy of the spotlight; are early- to mid-career educators 
     who offer strong long-range potential for professional and 
     policy leadership; and have an engaging and inspiring 
     presence that motivates and impacts students, colleagues and 
     the community, the website noted.
       The last south-central Kentucky educator to receive a 
     Milken Educator Award was Karen Branham in 2001. At the time, 
     Branham was a teacher at Glasgow High School. She is now 
     assistant superintendent for student learning for the 
     Elizabethtown Independent School District.
       The MFF is headquartered in Santa Monica, Calif.

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