Santa Monica, Calif.—The National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET) announced the five schools across the country have been selected this year as NIET Founder's Award finalists. Created by NIET Chairman and Founder Lowell Milken, the Founder’s Award is given to one school annually for exceptional implementation of NIET's principles to build educator excellence and advance student success.

Each finalist is given a plaque and $10,000. The winner, to be announced during NIET's National Conference in New Orleans on March 22, 2019, will take home a $50,000 grand prize.
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The finalists are:

• Alice M. Harte Charter School, InspireNOLA, Louisiana
  
• Cross County Elementary Technology Academy (CCETA), Cross County School District, Arkansas
• Desert View Elementary, Gadsden Elementary School District #32, Arizona
• Dodson Branch School, Jackson County Schools, Tennessee
• Wildflower School, Avondale Elementary School District #44, Arizona

"These five schools are maximizing the talents of educators and school leaders to achieve measurable results for students," says Lowell Milken. "Congratulations to Alice Harte, CCETA, Desert View, Dodson Branch and Wildflower on creating vibrant school cultures that empower educators and inspire students—tomorrow's leaders—to reach their highest potential."

"This finalist award is well-deserved as each of these schools is showing what students and teachers are capable of when they receive the support they need," says NIET CEO Dr. Candice McQueen. "We are proud to see the successes they have accomplished so far and look forward to watching them continue to build on this progress."

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‍NIET Founder's Award:‍

Funded by the Lowell Milken Family Foundation, the NIET Founder's Award comes with a $50,000 cash prize to be used toward instructional improvement efforts. The finalists will be recognized at a luncheon on Friday, March 22, 2019, during the 19th Annual National NIET Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, before more than 1,000 educators, policymakers, researchers and other influential leaders. The winner will be announced at the end of the luncheon.

NIET Founder's Award recipients are selected by NIET. The finalists were selected based on their efforts to make instructional excellence the cornerstone of school improvement; plan for regular professional learning focused on daily needs of teachers and students; create a culture of collaboration and reflection, and create leadership teams made of teacher leaders and administrators.

The NIET Founder's Award yields benefits that will strengthen the individual school and support its teachers. This is done by means of prominent public recognition and by opportunities to substantively interact on issues of educator effectiveness and student learning with leaders from government, business and academia.