Johnston-Hopkins Elementary School was the site of a state-wide celebration on Tuesday as sixth-grade math teacher Christine Bayard was named the newest Milken Educator Award winner.

Bayard, 36, has been instrumental in developing math skills at J-Hop, going so far as to start a math club that has received state recognition for its performances.

On Tuesday, what was initially expected by the staff and students to be a presentation by Louisiana State Superintendent of Education Dr. Cade Brumley quickly transitioned into a presentation by Milken Foundation founder and chairman Lowell Milken.

With the help of the J-Hop students, Milken explained what makes an excellent educator and announced a $25,000 prize to one lucky teacher. Bayard, sitting along the back row of the room with her class, was shocked to find out that she was the honoree.

“I had just told the kid next to me that it couldn’t be me, there’s no way it could be me,” Bayard said. “It’s amazing. I was here last night helping to prepare for it. They had me putting the signs on the chairs and I still had no idea. I was really nervous coming into today but I think it was just because I knew so many people were coming. To think that it was just about me is mindblowing, I can’t even explain it.”

In addition to the financial incentive, Bayard will join a growing network of nearly 3,000 award members to help grow both professionally and personally.

Chairman Lowell Milken said that the award came about from his desire to highlight a teacher that left a mark on his childhood.

“When they receive the award, they’re tied into our Milken Educator Network where we further their professional development, but they’re also contributing to the professional development of others,” he explained. “When I was in school, I had a teacher that truly made a difference in my life and I created this award in tribute to them because all of their great work was unknown. I knew about it, but nobody else did, so I wanted to create an initiative to call public attention to all of the important work that the teachers are doing.”

The Milken Educator Award is unique in that it is not something that a teacher can be nominated for. While Milken was sure to keep the full selection process a secret, he did say that his team uses all of their available resources to select the best educators in the nation.

“I’d love to tell you, but it’s a secret,” he said. “Let’s just say that we work with the state department’s of education and our veteran Milken Educators and names come to our attention that are truly extraordinary as instructional leaders, mentors of other teachers, individuals that are invested in their communities and truly making a difference. These names come to us and we go through a whole process and the foundation makes the final selection.”

While the award came as a surprise to Bayard, those who knew of her tireless efforts took the time to share all the work that she has done to deserve the recognition.

Principal Ashley Lewis spoke of Bayard’s commitment to her students and her accomplishments in the classroom. Iberia Parish Superintendent Heath Hulin and Dr. Brumley echoed the praises, highlighting how far the school and parish had come in recent years thanks to the efforts of Bayard and her peers.

Bayard, the daughter of an educator herself, spoke highly of those who came before her and helped guide her into a career in education.

“I had a gifted teacher for my entire elementary career and she was always there for me,” Bayard said. “She would bring in different elements to make learning fun and I think she was the reason I went to school, and that’s what I want to be for these kids. Today we’re playing math-ketball. We have a basketball goal set up on the back wall and we were just playing before we went to this assembly. I want to make math fun for them and make it part of the reason why they come to school each day.”

Bayard also explained just what math success looks like in the classroom.

“We are seeing kids meet their goals every day,” Bayard said. “We all get so excited when they get a certain amount of gold stars, which means they have met their own personal goal. We work hard every day for this, we’re always doing math and we turn anything into a problem for them to solve. The kid next to me at the assembly was trying to figure out 25,000 times 75 because that’s how many they’re giving out this year. We try to bring it into the real world because math is all around us.”

Bayard was thankful for the recognition and looks forward to working with the rest of the Milken Educators. As for the cash prize, she still isn’t sure what she will do with it.

“No clue, none at all. I guess I’m going to have to think about that. I did tell my kid that he could do an extra play this summer if I could afford it, so now he’s going to hold me to it,” she said jokingly.