Grant Hegstad from MOC-Floyd Valley was awarded a $25,000 Milken Educator Award Thursday afternoon.
Hegstad is the sole Iowa recipient of the Milken Educator Award this year. A surprise assembly was held at MOC-Floyd Valley High School to announce the award.
Hegstad serves as MOC-Floyd Valley High School’s assistant principal, Extended Career Experiences (ECE) coordinator, Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) instructor and head football coach.
“I am honored and humbled, to say the least,” Hegstad said. “I’m here today because I had incredible teachers growing up. As an educator now, to you as my colleagues and our team here, I’m so grateful for the chance to come to work with you every day.”
Hegstad has been in education for 14 years, all at MOC-Floyd Valley. He started in special education before moving to instructional coaching roles. In the last two years, he has been serving as the high school assistant principal along with his other roles. Hegstad said he feels his current positions have been tailored to who he is as a person and where his passions lie.
Hegstad follows MOC-Floyd Valley Superintendent Russ Adams, who received his award as principal at MOC-Floyd Valley High School in 2003.
“We are extremely fortunate to have Grant serving and leading at MOC-Floyd Valley. His vision for teaching and learning and his commitment to helping students grow through authentic experiences is unparalleled,” Adams said. “He is a true difference maker and an absolute blessing to everyone fortunate enough to know him.”
Iowa Department of Education Director McKenzie Snow spoke at the assembly, and the award was presented by Milken Educator Awards Senior Vice President Jane Foley.
“Grant Hegstad is a natural-born leader, learner and educator,” said Foley, who is also a 1994 Milken Educator from Indiana. “Providing all students with invaluable, hands-on opportunities to pursue their goals and dreams has been a game-changer. The local partnerships he has built with families, colleagues and community members will continue to elevate educational opportunities for his students.”
Hegstad said as he was standing in the gym during the assembly and it was announced an award would be given out, he was thinking of which teacher it could be.
“You could have picked a lot of teachers sitting in our bleachers today, our administrative team from our district, we’ve got phenomenal people,” he said.
Hegstad got his bachelors degree from Northwestern College in 2010 and his masters in 2014 from University of Sioux Falls.
The Milken Educator Award was created in 1987 by Lowell Milken as a way to publicly recognize teachers and to inspire teachers, students and communities to “celebrate, elevate and activate” the American K-12 teaching profession. The Milken Family Foundation does not take applications for the award, they seek out individuals in early to mid-career based on their achievements.
The award is being presented to 75 teachers across the nation. Along with the cash prize, the educators are given an all-expenses-paid trip to a Milken awards forum in Los Angeles to network with other recipients. They also join a network of other educators who have received the award and take part in a mentorship program.
Hegstad said he was not sure how he would spend the award.
There have been 47 Iowa educators to receive the award since Iowa joined the program in 1993.
The original article published in the Sioux City Journal can be found here.
