Five Schools Across the U.S. Selected as Finalists for NIET’s Founder’s Award, Contending for $50,000 Grand Prize
March 12, 2026
Annual Award Recognizes and Honors Exceptional Commitment to Educator Excellence and Student Achievement
Scottsdale, Ariz. (March 12, 2026) - The National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET) announced today that five schools have received $10,000 as finalists for NIET’s 2026 Founder’s Award. The prestigious Founder’s Award, created by Lowell Milken in 2008, honors one school in the United States each year for outstanding implementation of NIET’s principles to foster educator excellence and advance student success. The five finalist schools will be honored at NIET’s national conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, on April 1, where the grand prize winner will be revealed and receive a cash prize of $50,000.
The finalists are Horizon Honors Elementary School (Horizon Honors Schools, Arizona); Marthaville Elementary & Junior High School (Natchitoches Parish School Board, Louisiana); Northview Middle School (Metropolitan School District of Washington Township, Indiana); Riverwalk Academy (South Carolina Public Charter School District, South Carolina); and Sorrento Primary School (Ascension Public Schools, Louisiana).
Founder’s Award recipients are selected by NIET based on several factors, including improving classroom instruction and student academic growth; creating high-quality professional learning and coaching systems focused on the real-time needs of teachers and students; and engaging teacher leaders and school leaders in building a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement.
“Congratulations to the 2026 NIET Founder’s Award finalists: Horizon Honors Elementary, Marthaville Elementary and Junior High, Northview Middle, Riverwalk Academy, and Sorrento Primary,” said NIET Founder Lowell Milken. “We celebrate these outstanding schools for their commitment to supporting the success of teachers and students alike. When we engage teachers as leaders in improving instruction, students thrive.”
NIET’s partner schools, including the 2026 finalists, have demonstrated continuous improvement in teaching, learning, and student outcomes by creating supportive instructional environments and career pathways for educators.
“NIET partners across the country are strengthening instruction and increasing student success by investing in people, not programs,” said NIET Chief Executive Officer Dr. Joshua Barnett. “This year’s Founder’s Award finalists demonstrate the impact of building educator capacity, creating career pathways for teachers, and striving for continuous improvement.”
What Makes the NIET Founder’s Award Finalists Unique?
Horizon Honors Elementary School, Arizona
Located in Phoenix, Arizona, Horizon Honors Elementary School educates almost 800 students ranging from kindergarten through sixth grade. The school implements NIET’s best practices, including creating teacher leadership roles, protecting time for job-embedded professional learning, and strengthening instruction via individualized coaching and feedback for teachers. With these structures in place, Principal Laura Wanstreet and her leadership team have fostered an environment in which teachers and students are supported to achieve success.
From 2023 to 2025, Horizon Honors Elementary outpaced the state in the percentage of students scoring Proficient on state assessments in both English Language Arts (ELA) and math. The percentage of Horizon Honors Elementary School students scoring Proficient increased from 69% to 74% in ELA and from 53% to 56% in math. Reflecting its increases in student proficiency, Horizon Honors Elementary School has maintained an “A” letter grade since 2023.
Learn more about Horizon Honors Elementary School
Marthaville Elementary & Junior High School, Louisiana
Located about an hour south of Shreveport, Louisiana, Marthaville Elementary & Junior High School is a rural pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade school that serves approximately 200 students, 87% of whom are economically disadvantaged. Principal Andrew Newman, with the support of his Instructional Leadership Team (ILT) and district leaders, fosters a positive learning environment in which teachers and students can grow in confidence and skills.
The school’s overall student mastery rate increased eight points from 2023 to 2025, including an impressive 19 point increase in social studies. During the same period, the statewide mastery rate increased by only one point. As a result of the high-quality instruction offered, Marthaville Elementary & Junior High School improved to an “A” letter grade in 2024 and maintained it in 2025.
Learn more about Marthaville Elementary & Junior High School
Northview Middle School, Indiana
Northview Middle School is located on the north side of Indianapolis, Indiana. The school educates approximately 1,000 students in grades sixth through eighth, with almost half qualifying for free/reduced-price lunch. Principal Thomas Hakim and his leadership team focus on strengthening instruction, building educator capacity, and creating a positive learning environment for teachers and students.
From 2023 to 2025, the percentage of Northview Middle School students scoring Proficient on state assessments increased 22 points in math and 11 points in English Language Arts (ELA). The proficiency rate statewide increased by only one point in math and decreased in ELA during the same time period.
Learn more about Northview Middle School
Riverwalk Academy, South Carolina
Riverwalk Academy is a kindergarten through 12th grade charter school located about two hours east of Greenville, in Rock Hill, South Carolina. The school educates approximately 700 students across elementary, middle, and high school grades, over half of whom qualify as “pupils in poverty.” Head of School Robert Compton and his leadership team work each day to set clear expectations and provide the support needed to succeed.
From 2023 to 2025, the percentage of Riverwalk Academy’s elementary students who met or exceeded expectations on the English Language Arts state assessment outpaced the state and increased by eight points. At the high school level, the percentage of Riverwalk Academy students scoring a “C” or higher on the English End-of-Course assessment increased from 60% in 2023 to 76% in 2025. Riverwalk Academy also experienced an 18 point increase in the percentage of students scoring a “C” or higher on the Algebra End-of-Course assessment in the same time period.
Learn more about Riverwalk Academy
Sorrento Primary School, Louisiana
Sorrento Primary School is located in Ascension Parish, about halfway between Baton Rouge and New Orleans in Sorrento, Louisiana. The school educates just over 650 students ranging from prekindergarten to fifth grade, 65% of whom are economically disadvantaged. In partnering with NIET to implement the TAP System for Teacher and Student Advancement, Principal Honey Lundin and her leadership team are fostering a growth mindset and ensuring that all teachers and students have the individualized support they need to succeed.
The percentage of Sorrento Primary School students achieving Mastery and above on the state assessments across all subjects increased by five points between 2023 and 2025, compared to a one point increase statewide in the same span. The campus’s School Performance Score has steadily increased in recent years, moving from 80 in 2019 to 89 in 2025.
Learn more about Sorrento Primary School
About NIET
The National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET) is a national nonprofit based in Arizona that serves states and districts nationwide. For 25 years, NIET has partnered with schools, districts, states, and universities to build educator excellence and give all students the opportunity for success. NIET’s initiatives, including the TAP System, teacher and leader development, school improvement, rubric and observation systems, and educator preparation, have impacted more than 350,000 educators and 3.5 million students across the U.S.