Goals of the Milken Family Foundation National Educator Awards program include honoring and rewarding outstanding K-12 educators for the quality of their teaching, their professional leadership, their engagement with families and the community, and their potential for even greater contributions to the healthy development of children. Goals also include focusing public attention on the importance of excellent educators and encouraging able, caring and creative people to choose the challenge, service and adventure of teaching as a career.
Based on guidelines established by the Foundation, participating states' departments of education appoint blue-ribbon committees that recommend candidates for selection. Identification and selection procedures are confidential, and the program does not include a formal nomination or application procedure.
Prior to becoming a reading interventionist, Leigh Beson taught first grade at Dighton Elementary and used a combination of meticulous planning and adaptability to give each student the supports they needed to grow. Those who work with her say she has a keen sense of which student might need immediate help at any given time and when they can continue working on their own. Ms. Beson has served on district literacy committees and committees about multi-tiered systems of supports, and it wasn't unusual for other educators to observe her classroom for ideas and inspiration on how to improve their own teaching.
Ms. Beson, a Rochester resident, received a bachelor's degree in English from Fordham University in 2009 and a master's degree in teaching from Northeastern University in 2012. She has worked at Dighton Elementary since 2018 and has been a teacher since 2012.
Leigh Beson Reading Interventionist Dighton Elementary School Dighton-Rehoboth Regional School District
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Last Updated: August 28, 2023
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