Share Tweet Share Email

Top 25 of 2013: Teacher makes the grade

December 8, 2013
Melissa Leisner. Photo courtesy of Milken Family Foundation.

Melissa Leisner. Photo courtesy of Milken Family Foundation.

As 2013 draws to a close, NIU Today offers a look back at 25 of the top stories from the year.

No. 23

NIU alumna Melissa Leisner won the prestigious Milken National Educator Award in November.

The honor, which includes an unrestricted cash prize of $25,000, is dubbed “The Oscars of Teaching” by Teacher Magazine.

The seventh-grade English and reading teacher at Prairie Knolls Middle School in Elgin loves language arts and sharing her contagious passion with her students and colleagues.

Constantly creating fresh, exciting lessons and seeking students’ opinions on new approaches; Leisner’s classroom is “a culture of student engagement, collaboration, high expectations and fun.”