Shocked NJ teacher gets secret $25,000 prize for being one of the best teachers in the country

A visibly shaken Emily Litz was dragged into a group hug on Thursday as her fellow teachers heckled her and the Scotch Plains school gym erupted in thunderous cheers.

Her students shouted her name from the stands.

“Ms. Litz! Ms. Litz! Ms. Litz!” they roared.

It was as if Litz had just scored the winning touchdown at the Super Bowl. Instead, she was celebrated for being an exceptional educator.

Litz, a fifth-grade teacher in the Scotch Plains-Fanwood School District, was named the 2024-2025 award recipient Milken Teacher Award during a morning assembly at Malcolm E. Nettingham Middle School. The prize includes a $25,000 check for the teacher to use at their discretion.

Litz told the crowd that she decided to become a teacher “very early” in her life.

“In third grade I had a great teacher who made me enjoy school, and I knew I wanted to do that as a teacher,” she said. “I wanted students to come to school excited to not only learn, but to feel part of a family.”

Dozens of teachers and hundreds of students entered the gym that morning, thinking Kevin Dehmer, New Jersey’s acting commissioner of education, would address them on the topic of artificial intelligence. Dehmer did that for about five minutes, waxing lyrical about AI’s potential as an educational tool.

He paused to ask how many students had used AI to do their homework. A pair of hands crept up hesitantly.

Dehmer then passed the microphone to Jane Foley, senior vice president of the Milken Educator Awards. She revealed the true purpose of the meeting.

“There are many great teachers and principals in this country. And one of the best teachers in the entire country is here – at your school,” Foley said, causing the room to buzz.

The California-based Milken Family Foundation began recognizing excellence in K-12 teachers across the country in 1987. The organization will honor its 3,000th teacher this year.

Including Litz, there have been 38 recipients of the Milken Prize in New Jersey since the program began in the state in 2002.

The prize comes with a $25,000 prize, to be spent as the recipient sees fit – with no strings attached. Winners will also be offered mentorship and networking opportunities through the Milken Family Foundation.

The award cannot be submitted and candidates will not know they are eligible until they win.

“You don’t find us, we find you,” Foley said. “We look, we search, we go all over the country to find the best of the best.”

The selection process is shrouded in mystery. Candidates are identified based on criteria including “educational talent,” leadership, attendance, community involvement and professional potential, according to the foundation’s website.

Foley told NJ Advance Media that the foundation identifies candidates with the help of state education officials, who quietly collect and transmit information about their talent pool. The Milken Family Foundation looks at the recommendations and determines which teachers represent the “top 1% of the teaching profession,” Foley said.

“It’s a life changer,” Foley, himself a 1994 Milken Educator, said of the award. “Educators are already doing great work. After you win the prize, you feel a great responsibility to continue making your contribution.”

Of about 45 educators across the country to be honored this school year with the so-called “Oscars of Teaching,” Litz is the only one from New Jersey.

She is the first Scotch Plains-Fanwood Regional School District teacher to ever earn this honor.

Foley said Litz was picked from the candidate list because she “exemplified” the foundation’s criteria. An unsung hero and a leader in the school community, Litz’s former students often stop by to tell her the impact she had on them, Foley said.

As the crowd screamed, Litz walked to the front of the gym during the ceremony, one hand on her chest to steady herself. In the stands, a student in one of the back rows turned to his friends.

“That’s our teacher!” he said. “That’s so cool.”

Litz is known for bringing a sense of wonder and spontaneity to her teaching, according to a press release from the Milken Family Foundation. She sprinkles her students with glitter “for good luck” before tests and often turns her classroom into “a wilderness,” complete with a pretend roaring campfire, before they share their writing pieces.

“The teaching profession is fortunate to have Emily among its ranks, and we are proud to welcome her to the Milken Educator Network,” Foley said in a statement.

Thank you for trusting us to provide the local news you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.

AJ McDougall can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X at @oldmcdougall.