Photo credit: Milken Educator Awards
Santa Monica, Calif. — A celebration of Alta Loma High School’s California Distinguished School status carried with it an additional honor for one exceptional teacher. Milken Educator Awards Founder Lowell Milken announced Danyel Smith, an American Sign Language (ASL) teacher, as California’s sole Milken Educator Award recipient for 2024-25. Along with the Award’s national recognition and membership to the Milken Educator Network, Smith received a $25,000 cash prize she can use however she chooses. She is the first recipient awarded in the Chaffey Joint Union High School District.
“Exemplary educators like Danyel Smith have the important role of preparing students to advance successfully in learning and life,” said Lowell Milken. “Danyel’s positive impact is reflected in the tremendous popularity of the American Sign Language program at Alta Loma, her compassion for her students, and her dedication to her colleagues, school and broader community. We commend Danyel for choosing teaching as a profession and welcome her into the Milken Educator Network, where she will have powerful opportunities to broaden her reach. Congratulations.”
Today Smith joins a national network of over 3,000 Milken Educators spanning the Awards’ nearly 40-year history as the nation’s preeminent teacher-recognition program. Hailed as the “Oscars of Teaching,” the Milken Educator Awards inspire educators, students and entire communities to “Celebrate, Elevate and Activate” the K-12 teaching profession and encourage young, capable people to pursue teaching as a career. More than $75 million in individual financial prizes and more than $145 million have been invested in the Milken Educator Award national network overall.
Outstanding educators like Smith are not aware of their candidacy for the Award. Recipients are sought out while early- to mid-career for what they have achieved — and for the promise of what they will accomplish given the resources and opportunities afforded by the Award.
More About Danyel Smith
Expanding American Sign Language Education: Danyel Smith’s work as an American Sign Language teacher at Alta Loma High School is essential to the inclusivity and educational accessibility for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community both in and out of school. Smith has been instrumental in the growth of the school’s ASL program; she prepares students for success in careers, such as teaching or interpreting, and sparks their desire to further their language studies in college. Smith differentiates her instruction to suit every level of ASL learner, from beginners to advanced students, many of whom earn the California State Seal of Biliteracy. With ASL considered as an approved world language course for credit at a California public university, Smith opened a pathway for students to earn college credits through an articulation agreement with Mt. San Antonio Community College. She ignites students’ passion for ASL early, developing relationships with nearby elementary and middle schools through events such as “Sprouting Signers,” which allows her students to teach ASL to visiting elementary schoolers. Smith’s students enact their signing skills through Christmas caroling with the choir, signing the national anthem at school assemblies, and providing ASL translation for school events. Smith’s ASL level one (beginning) class has a 98% pass rate – with over 55% of incoming ALHS students choosing to take ASL year after year to fulfil their world language credit.
A Reliable Resource: As the World Language Department chair, Smith oversees the ASL and Spanish programs. She supports her ASL team by ensuring curriculum is aligned across campuses, encouraging collaboration across campuses, mentoring new ASL teachers, and leading professional development workshops on inclusive education practices and ASL. She also created an ASL professional learning community and implemented the use of Avant Assessments districtwide to test students’ ASL proficiency.
Advocating for All Students: Outside of the classroom, Smith is a strong advocate for her students. She serves as an ASL club advisor, Link Crew trainer, and freshman orientation leader. Connecting with incoming deaf and hard-of-hearing students early, she greets them at freshman orientation, assists with their class schedules and access to interpreting services, and makes herself a known, trusted resource for their families.
Education: Smith earned a bachelor’s in American Sign Language studies from Western Oregon University in 2011 and a master’s in education from Azusa Pacific University in 2016. She holds a Master ASL Teacher Certification and a National Interpreter Certification.
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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