25,000 apples for Minneapolis teacher

Kyndell Harkness, Star Tribune

Math teacher Martha Spriggs is congratulated by Mary Pawlenty, wife of Gov. Tim Pawlenty, after winning a Milken Educator Award on Tuesday.

Teacher Martha Spriggs, winner of a $25,000 Milken Educator Award, said she's still "reeling" from the honor.

By BOB VON STERNBERG and EMILY JOHNS, Star Tribune staff writers

Last update: October 20, 2009 - 11:33 PM

In a scenario common in the corporate world but almost unheard of in teaching, a Minneapolis middle school teacher's dedication got her a nice, fat bonus Tuesday -- $25,000 with no strings attached.

Martha Spriggs, a seventh-grade math teacher at Andersen United Community School, received the award from the Milken Family Foundation of Santa Monica, Calif., which has distributed more than $60 million in cash to more than 2,400 teachers over the past 22 years.

This year, Milken Educator Awards will go to 53 teachers nationwide.

"I'm still kind of reeling from all of it," Spriggs said later in the day. "I was really surprised. I felt like I was going to wake up from a dream."

Minnesota First Lady Mary Pawlenty and a foundation representative presented the award during an all-grades assembly at the south Minneapolis school.

Often called "the Oscars of teaching," the Milken Awards were developed in 1987 to recognize outstanding teachers and encourage young people to enter the profession.

Among other things, the foundation singled out the way Spriggs mentors her students, including chaperoning them to a robotics competition, teaching summer enrichment programs, developing an after-school girls science program and inviting them to have lunch with her when she provides tutoring.

Spriggs, who has been teaching for 10 years, had no advance notice because names of the recipients aren't released beforehand. She high-fived fellow teachers as she went to the stage.

Spriggs said she went into teaching after 10 years as an American Express customer service manager.

"Then the day came where I just thought, 'It wouldn't really matter if I came to work tomorrow or if I didn't.' I didn't really feel like I was making a difference in my life or anybody else's."

Spriggs quit and then spent a year wondering about the future and volunteering, a lot, at her own kids' schools. She liked it so much that she decided to become a teacher.

"I don't regret it ever," she said. "I wake up every day and can't wait to go to work."

She said she doesn't know how she will spend the money yet, but she plans to donate some of it to a cause. And, she added, "I do have two children of my own who are in college."

Spriggs was nominated by a committee appointed by the state Education Department.

In addition to her mentoring, the foundation cited Spriggs' role in supporting the recent merging of middle and elementary schools, which formerly went by the names Hans Christian Andersen Open School and Hans Christian Andersen Elementary Community School.

It also noted that 82 percent of her seventh-graders achieved the state's target math scores, the highest percentage of any teacher's students at Andersen.

Spriggs, in her fifth year teaching at Andersen, is the 38th Minnesota teacher to be recognized since the program began.

"I feel like it's really hard to reach kids sometimes, but when you do, there's no feeling in the world like that," she said. "I feel a little guilty sometimes because I get so much out of it. Hopefully the kids do, too."

Bob Von Sternberg • 612-673-7184 • Bob.VonSternberg@startribune.com

Emily Johns • 612-673-7460 • Emily.Johns@startribune.com

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