South Ripley Educator Surprised with $25,000 Milken Educator Award

The announcement was made during a school assembly this morning.

Milken Educator Awards Senior Vice President Dr. Jane Foley (left) presents Katie Lanter with a $25,000 Milken Educator Award. Photo by Josh Myers, WIKI Country 95.3.

(Versailles, Ind.) – A South Ripley Community School Corporation educator was surprised with a $25,000 Milken Educator Award this morning.

During a vibrant school assembly, Indiana Secretary of Education Dr. Katie Jenner joined Milken Educator Awards Senior Vice President Dr. Jane Foley in presenting the national Milken Educator Award to Katie Lanter.

Lanter, a 7th grade Reading Teacher at South Ripley Junior High, is the first Milken Award recipient in South Ripley Community School Corporation history.

The award, hailed as the “Oscar of Teaching,” recognizes educators for instructional excellence, professional leadership, engagement with the community, and potential for even greater contributions to the healthy development of children.

"This is entirely unexpected, but I am very, very honored," said Lanter. "It has been an honor to work with our fabulous administrators and of course my teams that I've been a part of. Obviously, South Ripley Junior High School has a very special place in my heart. And all these wonderful teachers I've been around, it could have been any one of you. And thank you to my students." 

Of the three million teachers across the country, the Milken Family Foundation’s 2024-25 tour will honor up to 45 educators coast to coast. Each honoree will receive an all expenses paid trip to LA in April.  

"You are one of the best in the country. I could not be more proud of you. Great teachers change lives. We are so glad you are a teacher, and right here in Indiana," said Dr. Katie Jenner. 

“Katie Lanter is a leader in preparing students for the rigor and excitement of high school,” said Dr. Foley. “From guiding students’ educational journeys to contributing to the excellence of South Ripley Junior High School at large, Katie’s impact has had a ripple effect on all the lives she has touched. Thank you, Katie, for inspiring the love of learning in others and for choosing teaching as a career.”

Lanter will be able to use the $25,000 award in any way she chooses. 

See the full school assembly in the video player below. 

More About Katie Lanter

Data-Driven Instruction: Katie Lanter is focused on implementing effective instructional strategies and maximizing learning outcomes for every student she meets. A seventh grade English Language Arts and reading teacher at South Ripley Junior High School, Lanter leads data analysis discussions among her colleagues, utilizing interim assessment (Clearsight) and state testing (ILEARN) data, then maps students’ progress on the teachers’ “data wall” year-round for easier visual identification of their performance. Further harnessing her targeted instructional approach, Lanter offers an eighth grade reading and creative writing class for high school credit, designed at her hand to prepare students for the rigor of high school. Lanter’s efforts have contributed significantly to consistently positive outcomes in reading and ELA, and seventh grade holds a first place ranking in ELA, reading and writing performance in Southeastern Indiana.

A Team Player: Lanter is dedicated to the betterment and growth of South Ripley Junior High School. In her role as the school improvement team chair, she helped guide the school’s Cognia accreditation process, state STEM certification, and Project Lead the Way Distinguished School recognition. Lanter serves as a grade-level PLC member, mentor teacher and transition team member. As a teacher leader on the transition team, Lanter helped build an instructional framework between the South Ripley Junior High and High School buildings to promote consistency and communication of effective strategies for students’ transition to high school. After the project’s completion, Lanter took part in presenting the data at the Indiana Principals Leadership Institute State Seminar, which was professionally published through Indiana State University.

Continued Support: Extending her support outside of the classroom, Lanter tutors students after-school through the Raider Accountability Program, fundraises and organizes sending gift boxes to soldiers overseas, and sponsors the school’s Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) program, where she advocates for drug and vaping safety and awareness and organizes a schoolwide Red Ribbon Week.

Education: Lanter earned her Bachelor of Science in secondary English education with a minor in classical culture from Ball State University in 2012.

The Milken Educator Award Reaps Lifelong Benefits

• The $25,000 cash Award is unrestricted. Recipients have used the money in diverse ways. Some recipients have spent the funds on their children’s or their own continuing education, financing dream field trips, establishing scholarships, and even adopting children.
• Honorees receive powerful mentorship opportunities for expanded leadership roles that strengthen education practice and policy. Milken Friends Forever (MFF) pairs a new recipient with a veteran Milken Educator mentor; the Expanding MFF Resource and Explorer Program fosters individual veteran Milken Educator partnerships around specific topic areas; and Activating Milken Educators promotes group collaboration in and across states to bring solutions to pressing educational needs.
• The honorees attend an all-expenses-paid Milken Educator Awards Forum in Los Angeles in April 2025, where they will network with their new colleagues as well as veteran Milken Educators and other education leaders about how to broaden their impact on K-12 education.
• Veteran Milken Educators demonstrate a wide range of leadership roles at state, national and international levels.

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