Making Headlines: Jefferson Parish Teacher Goes Viral, Wins $25K Educator Award

A NIET partner school is gaining media attention and has garnered millions of views online after Sarah Watkins, an eighth-grade English Language Arts teacher in Jefferson Parish Public Schools, Louisiana, received the Milken Educator Award this November. The award included a $25,000 unrestricted cash prize and was announced by NIET Chief Executive Officer Dr. Joshua Barnett.

The heartwarming moment - and its following rise to fame on TikTok - was covered by Louisiana Life Magazine. 

“What a gift to have the aptitude and capacity to inspire leadership in others the way Sarah Watkins does at Stella Worley,” Dr. Barnett told Louisiana Life following the ceremony. “Her exemplary dedication to continuous improvement has made a positive impact on her school, community, and state. I look forward to seeing Sarah shine on a national scale as a member of the Milken Educator Network.”

Watkins told the magazine in its most recent piece, 6M TikTok Views Later: Jefferson Parish Teacher Receives $25,000, “I hope that people who see the video, people who see educators, they recognize that we do this work because we love children. We’re trying to impact the future.”

Fondly known as “The Oscars of Teaching,” 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. Watkins joins a network of more than 3,000 award-winning educators nationwide.