PUSD TEACHER SURPRISED WITH NATIONAL
MILKEN EDUCATOR AWARD
"Oscar of Teaching" goes to
John Muir's Manuel Rustin,
along with $25,000 Prize
Pasadena, CA, January 31, 2012 - John
Muir High School teacher Manuel Rustin
got the surprise of a lifetime today at
a school wide assembly, where he was
honored with the National Milken
Educator Award, one of the most
prestigious honors in teaching. The
Milken Family Foundation (MFF)
honored-and stunned-Manuel Rustin, a
social studies teacher at John Muir High
School, with the award, which comes with
a no-strings-attached cash prize of
$25,000. Among the leaders participating
in the ceremony were California
Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom
Torlakson and Pasadena Unified School
District Superintendent Jon R. Gundry.
"Our public education
system is at the heart of America's
promise and is essential in safeguarding
the American dream for future
generations. With research confirming
that an effective teacher is the single
most important school-related factor in
raising student achievement, it is clear
to see the critical role that
outstanding teachers play in shaping our
country," said MFF Chairman and
Co-Founder Lowell Milken, who presented
the award. "We created the Milken
Educator Awards to proclaim in a very
public way that greatness in education
must be recognized and rewarded. As the
program's motto extols, 'the future
belongs to the educated.' Manuel Rustin
is an education game-changer who
empowers students and teachers to exceed
their own expectations of what is
possible. He is an inspiration and
example for communities, policymakers,
and students who may be inspired to
enter the profession, and for all of our
nation's K-12 educators."
Mr. Rustin, the lead
teacher for John Muir High's Arts,
Entertainment and Media (AEM) College &
Career Pathway was instrumental in the
overall redesign of the school four
years ago into academies, and the AEM
Pathway became certified in June 2011.
In the four years since its reinvention,
John Muir High School's academic
performance index has risen by 78
points, graduation rates and attendance
rates have improved, and the school has
produced three Gates Millennium
Scholarship winners.
"One of the main things I
love about Muir is how many great
teachers we have," said Mr. Rustin
before a cheering audience. "The award
itself is an honor, but the greatest
honor is being part of the Mustang
family and teaching Mustangs how to get
where they want to go. There's not a
moment that I regret choosing to teach,
and to come to Muir. Four years ago,
students, families, and staff came
together and turned things around, and
this award celebrates what we've
accomplished. As a teacher, it's all
about working with students like you,
connecting with you and motivating you
to do your best."
This year marks MFF's
25th anniversary recognizing and
rewarding America's top teachers with
what Teacher Magazine deems "the Oscars
of Teaching." The Awards program was
conceived by Lowell Milken to recognize
the importance of outstanding educators
and encourage talented young people to
enter the teaching profession. Unlike
most teaching awards, the Milken
Educator Awards has no formal nomination
or application process. Each year
exceptional teachers, principals and
specialists-recommended without their
knowledge by a blue-ribbon panel
appointed by each state's department of
education-are surprised with the news of
their awards.
As lead teacher for John
Muir High's Arts, Entertainment and
Media (AEM) College & Career Pathway,
Mr. Rustin creates such a stimulating
environment that when he offered a state
test prep boot camp after school for a
group of 30 students, 60 lined the halls
ready to go. Rustin made room for them
all. His teaching effectiveness is
characterized by an innovative approach
to instruction which has motivated
higher thinking skills, increased peer
learning relationships and strengthened
ties between the curriculum and real
world. Standout projects have been to
create songs and performances about the
Constitution and establish Facebook
profiles for historical figures.
Mr. Rustin drives his
students to think independently and
prepares them for college. In his
classes, they become versed in
performing self-assessments and charting
goals. Mr. Rustin conducts his own
assessments of students at the
beginning, middle and end of the year.
In a school that had traditionally been
underperforming, his students are seeing
noticeable gains in achievement.
In addition to his daily
duties, Mr. Rustin is responsible for
coordinating student recruitment and
internships for his College & Career
Pathway as well as providing
professional development for fellow
staff. He is a member of the school's
leadership team and its Advancement Via
Individual Determination (AVID) site
team, as well as a lead trainer for
Thinking Maps-a common visual language
and graphic organizing system for
note-taking-now in every classroom.
The Awards story doesn't
end with the surprise notification. New
recipients are invited to join the
Milken Educator Network, a group of
distinguished educators whose expertise
serves as a valuable resource to fellow
educators, legislators, school boards
and others shaping the future of
education.
Since first presented to
a dozen California teachers, the Milken
Educator Awards program has grown to
become the nation's preeminent teacher
recognition program having honored more
than 2,500 teachers, principals and
specialists with over $63 million in
individual, unrestricted $25,000 awards.
More than $135 million has been devoted
to the overall program, which includes
powerful professional development
opportunities throughout the recipients'
careers in education. The exponential
impact of the more than 2,500
outstanding teachers has helped to
reform American K-12 education. The
Milken Awards alternates yearly between
elementary and secondary educators. Each
participating state department of
education appoints an independent blue
ribbon committee to review candidates
that are sourced through a confidential
selection process and recommend
candidates to the Foundation.
Award Criteria:
Candidates for the Milken
Educator Awards are selected on the
basis of the following criteria:
Exceptional
educational talent as evidenced by
effective instructional practices
and student learning results in the
classroom and school;
Exemplary
educational accomplishments beyond
the classroom that provide models of
excellence for the profession;
Individuals whose
contributions to education are
largely unheralded yet worthy of the
spotlight;
Early- to
mid-career educators who offer
strong long-range potential for
professional and policy leadership;
and
Engaging and
inspiring presence that motivates
and impacts students, colleagues and
the community.
2011-2012 Muir Boys
Basketball Schedule
Coach Smalley and the team
celebrates another Mustang Win!
1/11 5:00 PM
Burroughs
01/13 7:00 PM
@ Glendale
01/17 5:00 PM
@ Crescenta Valley
01/20 5:00 PM
@ Pasadena
01/23 5:00 PM
@ Arcadia
01/25 5:00 PM
Burbank
01/27 TBA
Hoover
01/31 5:00 PM
@ Burroughs
02/03 7:00 PM
Glendale
02/07 5:00 PM
Crescenta Valley
02/09 5:00 PM
Pasadena
Attention
Ralphs' Shoppers!
John Muir High School is now signed up with
Ralphs Market. If you have a Ralphs Reward
card please visit the Ralphs website and
register your card, then when you shop at
Ralphs they will make a donation to Muir.
It's that easy! If you don't have a Ralphs
Reward card then visit your neighborhood
Ralphs and get one - they're free and you'll
earn savings too.
Once you have your Rewards Card go to
www.ralphs.com and create an account so
that you can sign up to get rewards for
Muir.
After you create the account sign in and
look for the "Edit Community Contribution"
information and input the 5-digit code for
Muir which is "92027."
From then on every time you shop use your
rewards card and know that you helping Muir!
Target
Stores Support Schools "Take Charge of Education"
How
the Program Works
You shop,
Muir benefits. It's that simple. And your
REDcardSM makes it possible.
Enroll in Take Charge
of Education and designate a K-12
school.
Start shopping with
your REDcard.
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We'll track purchases made
by participating REDcard holders, then send
a no-strings-attached donation check
directly to the school principal.
Checks are distributed
once a year. If the total of accumulated
donations is less than $25, the amount
carries over to the next payment period. You
can track your school's progress at
Target.com/tcoe
Hall-of-Fame alumnus Victor Wright today was
presented with a custom letterman jacket, paid for
by his Muir High classmates and Pasadena Star-News
readers who responded to an article indicating he
had no such jacket to adorn his recently acquired
honorary varsity football letter. Wright, who
suffered a spinal injury as a sophomore during a
game in 1976, has been paralyzed from the neck down
for more than 33 years. He was presented with an
honorary varsity letter at a Nov. 16, 2009 halftime
ceremony at Muir's Walton Field during a game
against Arcadia High, which the 0-5 Mustangs won,
27-7. The Star-News ran an article the next day,
which revealed Wright had earned two other football
letters at Muir and was a five-sport letterman at
Eliot Middle School (football, baseball, track,
gymnastics and volleyball)
However, Wright admitted he had no jacket for the
letters, which were in a bedroom dresser drawer. An
out-pouring of support followed, as a half dozen
readers sent in checks to the newspaper made out to
Wright, totaling
$205.
Victor's classmates, who
held their 30-year reunion last November, which he
attended, picked up
the remaining cost of customizing the $373 jacket
with a portion of the proceeds from their weekend
activities.
Also discovered in Wright's drawer was another
honorary varsity letter given to Wright in 1977 at a
varsity football team awards banquet, attended by
the late former University of Michigan Head Coach Bo Schembechler. The Wolverines were in town for the
1978 Rose Bowl game. Schembechler heard about
Wright's story and came to the banquet at
Brookside Golf Club to present him with a
helmet and football, which still hang on his
bedroom wall.
Wright, who turns 49
this month,
graduated on schedule with his class in 1979. Ten
years later, he became one of the first
quadriplegics to earn a college degree, through a
program for students with disabilities at Los
Angeles City College. He went on to co-found the
non-profit organization Family of Friends
International (www.familyoffriendsinternational.org),
which provides relief to victims of natural
disasters. For these efforts, Wright was elected to
the John Muir High School Alumni Hall of Fame in
2007.
Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the New Field
Remarkable as it may seem, my alma mater, John Muir
High, FINALLY has a "quality" football field to play home games on
and the stadium is not far behind. I graduated in 1970
and even then we played "home games" across town at Horrell
Field (now Robinson Stadium),
at PCC (Pasadena City College). Which meant that we
always traveled to watch the Mustangs play football
during my days at Muir.
It is called Walton Field and is named for
Al "Weary" Walton. Coach Walton was a Muir Tech
coach who, in 1934, won Muir's first State
Championship in high school sports. The track and
field was rededicated to his memory. A commemorative
plaque on the large rock located on the southeast
corner of the field was originally placed there
during the John Muir College days. Discussion around
naming the stadium continue. The names of a few of
the great track & field and football coaches that
have led Muir to its many CIF titles and
championship meets are being considered.
On Tuesday, January 17th, the
sun arose over the Muir marquee for the final time The marquee that
was installed in 1982 (or there about) has been unusable for the past
5+ years due
to the destructive nature that was supposed to bring improvements to the
campus during the Proposition "Y" days.
Removing the Old Marquee
By
9:00 that morning the removal of the old marquee had been
completed and the installation of the new marquee had
begun...
Preparing the Pole
Installing the New Marquee
3:00 P.M. and the sign is complete. Thank
you,
Tomark Sports for your hard
work!
The New Marquee - Completed
After years of inactivity, the marquee in
front of John Muir High School, 1905 Lincoln Ave., Pasadena,
has been replaced, thanks to donations from alumni,
businesses, individuals and civic organizations.
The original marquee was rendered unusable
several years ago, after maintenance crews making
landscaping improvements with Proposition Y funding ruptured
underground cables, which also cut off heating to the school
auditorium.
“Over time, the old sign became outdated and
needed to be replaced,” said Mark Levy, president of
the John Muir High School Alumni Association. “The (Pasadena
Unified School) District lacked the funding to replace it,
so the Alumni Association decided to take action to come up
with the money through private donations.”
Among the major benefactors was the
Pasadena Tournament of Roses
Foundation.
The marquee was designed and installed by
Tomark Sports
under the direction of the Alumni Association. Tomark
provided training to school staff, which will maintain the
computer-operated sign.
“It is our hope that this new light shining
in front of the school will help bolster the morale of the
students and staff at Muir,” said Levy, a 1967 graduate,
“and that it will announce to the community that Muir is
here and thriving.”
A dedication and official lighting ceremony
will be held soon.
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