He didn't envision his school day ending quite like this.
Barth Quenzer, a 33-year-old visual-arts teacher at Brown International Academy in Denver, held his hand to his forehead — utterly stunned — as an auditorium full of students cheered and chanted, "Mis-ter Q! Mis-ter Q!"
Amid state and local education dignitaries gathered on stage, Quenzer heard the surprise announcement that he had won a 2012 Milken Educator Award as one of 40 educators nationwide to be recognized with a $25,000 prize.
"I did not see this coming," he said.
The Milken Family Foundation, which sponsors the awards, refers to them as the "Oscars of teaching" and bestows them on exceptional educators nominated and vetted through state
departments of education."It's not a
lifetime-achievement award," said foundation representative Jane Foley,
who announced the honor to a delighted gathering. "We look for
candidates who are still early in their careers. Our hope is that this
will inspire them to continue to do great things."Quenzer, in his seventh year of teaching in Denver Public Schools, described what he tries to impart to the 550 Brown students from kindergarten to fifth grade: "It's a basic love of learning, curiosity, asking questions, taking risks, working with each other in collaboration, exploring, experimenting and sharing great ideas with others."
And he credited school leaders for putting faith in teachers.
"Every day, I come in and know the work I get to do with my students is exactly what I want to be doing," Quenzer said. "It's my passion. When students feel and understand that, it becomes more real to them. Passion transfers."
The woman who nominated him described a self-motivated, caring and humble man with a knack for reaching his students and making them care deeply about the arts. Quenzer won a 2009 Mile High Teacher of the Year Award and last summer was named 2012 Colorado Arts Education Association elementary
art teacher of the year."From the first time I observed him in class, I saw he had a way of understanding universal principles that go way beyond classroom instruction," said C. Capucine Chapman, the fine-arts program manager for DPS. "He plans, he cares, and he listens, then applies what he learns."
Another colleague wrote on his nomination: "Barth sees farther than most of us see. ... He understands both art and education. Second-graders have art critiques in their classroom, really talking about artwork in a way that you can't even get museum curators to talk about art."
Among the 40 honorees this year, Quenzer is the only one from Colorado — though 11 previous Colorado winners were assembled on stage to welcome him to what one called "membership in a transformative and life-changing club."
Eighty-four Colorado recipients since 1989 have been awarded $2.1 million.
"I have to put it back on the students and fellow teachers," Quenzer said as the cheers quieted. "I love you guys, and I love Brown. And we're going to do great things to come."
Foley, who travels the country delivering the awards at surprise assemblies, playfully toyed with her mostly young audience while she unraveled her "secret."
A handful of fifth-graders helped her by holding up numbered placards, one by one, to illustrate the financial award. After the 2 and the 5, students gasped and cheered as, zero by zero, the figure grew to $25,000 — an award that comes with no strings attached.
Quenzer said some of the money will be earmarked for "something related to Brown."
Still standing on stage, he called his wife and asked her to guess why he was calling. Sensing something big, she guessed he had won something.
"A trip to Hawaii?" she asked.
"We can go to Hawaii," Quenzer grinned. "For sure."
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