high school. The first year she
held the orientation, she
offered 17 different sessions so
people could attend whenever
it fit their schedule.
Orientation is part of her
Pathways to Success program,
which connects the school, the
students, and the parents to
the success of each child. This
program also helps students
learn organizational skills and
teaches them how to keep
track of their assignments and
grades.
“By shining a national spotlight on these
exceptional people,”
Lowell Milken said
of the Milken Award
winners, “the Milken
Educator Awards
send a powerful
message of the critical role that talented
teachers play in
preparing young
people for a bright
future.”
‘Students Work Hard
for Her’
Because she is bilingual,
she is also able to speak to
many families in their home
language, which makes them
feel more comfortable when
they are at school. She has a
strong relationship with the
families because she has
moved up with the students as
they have advanced. She has
now worked at the elementary,
middle, and high school levels.
One colleague says of
Olivares, “Students work hard
for her because they love her
and won’t let her down.”
She feels the same way
about the students.
Olivares received an
all-expenses-paid trip to Los
Angeles, California, to attend
the Milken Educator Forum.
‘Oscars of Teaching’
“By shining a national
spotlight on these exceptional
people,” Lowell Milken said of
the Milken Award winners,
“the Milken Educator Awards
send a powerful message of the
critical role that talented
teachers play in preparing
young people for a bright
future.”
Olivares is one of only 50
educators in the country to
receive the award this year.
This is the 23rd year the
Milken Family Foundation of
California has recognized
educators by honoring them in
front of large student assem-
blies and by providing them
with unrestricted cash prizes.
Dubbed “the Oscars of
teaching” by Teacher Magazine,
the Milken Educator Awards
were conceived by Lowell
Milken, chairman of the
Milken Family Foundation, to
recognize the importance of
outstanding educators and to
encourage talented young
people to enter the teaching
profession.
“Milken Educators
represent the best of what the
American teaching profession
is and can be,” Milken noted.
The awards alternate each
year between elementary and
secondary educators. Since
first presented in 1987 to 12
exemplary California teachers,
the Milken Educator Awards
program is now the nation’s
largest teacher recognition
program, having honored
more than 2,400 educators
from coast to coast with over
$60 million.H
NCES Report: Student/
Teacher Ratio Has Declined
in Most Recent Decade
The number of public school teachers has risen faster
than the number of public school students over the past
10 years, resulting in declines in the student/teacher
ratio, according to The Digest of Education Statistics,
2009, published by the National Center for Education
Statistics (NCES).
In the fall of 2009, there were a projected 15. 3 public
school students per teacher, compared with 16.1 public
school students per teacher 10 years earlier.
Other findings include the following:
• Record levels of total elementary, secondary, and
college enrollment are expected through at least
2018.
• The status dropout rate (the percentage of 16-to-24-
year-olds not enrolled in school and who have not
received either a diploma or an equivalency credential)
declined from 13 percent in 1988 to 8 percent in
2008. The percentage of young adults (25-to-29-year-
olds) who had completed high school in 2009 was
about the same as it was in 1999 (89 and 88 percent,
respectively).
• Expenditures for public and private education, from
prekindergarten through graduate school (excluding
postsecondary schools not awarding associate’s or
higher degrees) were estimated at $1.1 trillion for
2008-09. Total expenditures for education were
expected to amount to 7. 6 percent of the gross
domestic product in 2008-09, about 0.7 percentage
points higher than in 1998-99.
The Digest of Education Statistics, 2009 is the 45th in a
series of publications initiated in 1962 by the NCES. The
publication’s primary purpose is to provide a compilation
of statistical information covering the broad field of
American education from prekindergarten through
graduate school. The Digest contains data on a variety
of topics, including the number of schools and colleges,
teachers, enrollments, and graduates, in addition to
educational attainment, finances, and federal funds for
education, libraries, and international comparisons.
To view the full reports, visit http://nces.ed.gov/
pubsearch/ pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2010013.H
