Renton principal honored with prestigious award, $25,000 prize
Cascade Elementary leader has education ‘in her heart’

By Nathan Olson
OSPI Media Relations Manager
nathan.olson@k12.wa.us

An unsuspecting principal received a big surprise during a school assembly on October 29, 2008.

Shannon Harvey, principal at Cascade Elementary School in Renton, was named winner of the 2008 Milken National Educational Award. The award, which includes a $25,000 cash prize, was announced during an assembly that had been billed as a preview for a new state award that Cascade would be receiving.

Award winner Shannon Harvey (left) with Mary Alice Heuschel (right), the Superintendent of Renton School District.

State Superintendent Terry Bergeson joined Richard Sandler, executive vice president of the Milken Family Foundation, at Cascade Elementary to make the announcement. “To be effective, principals must see near and far,” Bergeson said. “Shannon has that amazing vision. Her leadership and organizational skills help keep the day-to-day machinery at Cascade running smoothly. “But she also knows how to use data to achieve long-reaching results. Under her stewardship, Cascade has gone from 48 percent of its students meeting standard on the the state reading assessment to 81 percent. “More important, she uses that data to make sure no students fall through the cracks. In 2007, not a single student at Cascade scored at the lowest level on the reading WASL. That kind of dedication to each student makes her a worthy winner of the Milken Award.” Not content with improving only reading achievement, Harvey recently wrote a successful Math Helping Corps grant to boost student performance in math. She is attending all district math curriculum trainings so that she can fully support her staff.

Harvey has spent her entire career in the Renton School District. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in education from Western Washington University, she worked as a special education teacher at Campbell Hill Elementary School. She then spent a year at Highlands Elementary School before moving to Cascade in 2000. In 2004, she became Cascade’s principal.

In 2007, Harvey was selected by a group of 13 elementary principals in the Renton School District to be their team leader. She mentors aspiring administrators, as well as teachers seeking National Board certification. Fred Row, assistant superintendent for learning and teaching at the Renton School District, wrote in a letter of praise, “If a district could have every principal function as an instruction leader as Harvey does, there would be no students left behind in their buildings.”

Other colleagues also praise her deep commitment to students. “She won’t leave education because education is in her heart,” wrote Janet Regge, professional development coach at Cascade.

Unlike most teaching awards, the Milken Educator Awards have no formal nomination or application process. Educators are recommended without their knowledge by each state’s department of education.

The award alternates each year between elementary and secondary educators.

Dubbed the "Oscars of Teaching" by Teacher magazine, the award was established in 1985. Since then, more than $60 million has been given to winners. The purpose of the award is to attract, retain and reward outstanding K-12 teachers, principals and other education professionals who make important contributions to excellence in education.

More than 80 teachers in the United States received the award this year. Each winner will be presented with a $25,000 award at the annual Milken Family Foundation National Education Conference, an all-expenses-paid professional development conference held in Los Angeles in April. The winners also join the Milken Educator Network, a coalition of more than 2,300 top educators who serve both as expert resources and collaborators to network members as they help cultivate and expand innovative programs in their classrooms, schools and districts.