Blackfoot educator wins prestigious national award

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Journal Writer

BLACKFOOT - It seemed slightly strange to Chris Wilmes that the state's top education official had traveled to a Blackfoot elementary school for a patriotic assembly.

But Wilmes didn't think too much of it - less than one week remains until Columbus Day and furthermore he had a whole class of active fourth-graders to supervise.

“I had absolutely no idea why she was here,” said Wilmes, a teacher at Stalker Elementary School, of the rare presence of State Superintendent of Public Instruction Marilyn Howard.

During the national anthem and pledge of allegiance things seemed straightforward enough. Then a normal Tuesday deviated sharply into the realm of the unexpected.

As Wilmes watched in stunned silence, Howard announced he'd been selected as the 2006 Milken educator for the state of Idaho and would receive a cash award of $25,000.

No more Paul Revere and red, white and blue. The patriotism facade had been a well-laid trap.

“I really didn't expect anything of this nature,” Wilmes said after the crowd had cleared. “I'm a little taken aback. Hopefully, it will actually sink in.”

Wilmes, who's in his third year at the Blackfoot School District after 13 years teaching in Firth, said he recently pondered going into school administration but decided to put off the move for a few more years.

“It's things like this that let me know I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing,” he said as hundreds of awed students looked on.

Howard, who taught in the Blackfoot School District in the early stages of her career, obviously reveled in heightening the suspense of the announcement.

“We love the look on the face of the winner when the name is announced,” she said. “They're always the same in that they're always surprised.”

Howard will retire in January, but said bestowing such honors on teachers statewide has been one of the best parts of her job.

“The whole idea of this award is there are many, many outstanding teachers and it's difficult to award them all,” she said. “That person (who is selected) then represents the excellent teachers we have in Idaho.”

The Milken Family Foundation created the National Educator Awards program in the 1980s and each state appoints a panel to recommend potential candidates.

In addition to the $25,000 award, winners also travel to Los Angeles to participate in a national education conference.

One former winner, Peggy Rogers of Rexburg, said she was just as surprised as Wilmes when she received the honor.

“It's opened up all kind of opportunities for me,” she said.

But the secret was almost blown by school principal Hal Silzly, who struggled to keep the announcement under wraps for three weeks before Tuesday's assembly.

“I'm not a real good person at keeping secrets,” Silzly said, before proceeding to heap praise on Wilmes.

“He just has a real good rapport with kids,” Silzly said. “He doesn't belittle them or put them down, but he gets their respect.”

Not only that, but he just became the most popular guy in school when it comes time to paying for lunch.

Dan Boyd covers politics and is the editor of the Outdoors section for the Journal. He can be reached at 239-3168 or by e-mail at dboyd@journalnet.com.

By Dan Boyd

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