For Lindsey Wilson University Graduate Sydney Newton, Receiving a Milken Educator Award is a Tribute to Her Teachers

Award-winning Taylor County High School teacher was inspired by educators who helped shape her career.

by Duane Bonifer

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. (12/18/2025) — When Sydney Newton '16 joined fellow Taylor County High School teachers, staff members and students on Tuesday, Dec. 16, in the school's Citizens Bank Arena, she assumed they were there to take part in what promised to be a fairly typical celebratory schoolwide assembly.

The school's low brass band was playing festive music, and Kentucky Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman and Commissioner of Education Robbie Fletcher were on hand to praise the teachers, staff and students for the school's recent academic accomplishments and noteworthy test scores.

But then things took a turn when visitor Jane Foley walked onto Clem Haskins Court to announce that one of the school's teachers was about to be named a recipient of a prestigious Milken Educator Award.

"I was like, 'Oh my gosh, some teacher in our building is about to get that money, this award and get to go to (Washington) D.C.,'" said Newton. "I was like, 'This is amazing, this is amazing that this exists.'"

Then Foley, who is the senior vice president of the Milken Educator Awards, called Newton to the floor because the English language arts teacher was named Kentucky's 64th recipient of a Milken Educator Award and the first Taylor County teacher to earn the honor.

'Oscars of Teaching'

Called the "Oscars of Teaching" and supported by the Milken Family Foundation of Santa Monica, California, the Milken Educator Awards do not have a formal application or nomination process, according to the foundation. Outstanding early-to-mid-career K-12 educators are identified for what they have achieved, according to the foundation, "and for the promise of what they will accomplish given the resources and opportunities afforded by the award."

The accolade includes an unrestricted $25,000 cash award and mentorship opportunities through the Milken Friends Forever network. Recipients also get to attend the Milken Educator Awards Forum in Washington, D.C., where they meet with new colleagues, veteran Milken Educators and other education leaders "about how to further develop their voice into roles that lead to real change," according to the foundation.

Nationally, the Milken Foundation has presented the award to more than 3,000 educators since the program started in 1987. Kentucky has participated in the program since 1993.

'A million other people'

Newton, who is in her 10th year of teaching at Taylor County, said that one reason she was surprised to receive the award was because she could "think of a million other people who deserve this."

"I thought, 'This is not real,'" Newton said when she heard her name called. "It was similar to having the dream when you're standing in your underwear in front of a big crowd. Not that it was bad -- I did not have a negative reaction -- but I thought, 'That did not just come out of her mouth because I can think of a million other people who deserve this.'"

Others might be worthy of the award, but Newton is truly one in a million when it comes to teaching.

In its announcement, the foundation said that Newton "is often the first smiling face students see in the morning as she welcomes bus riders to TCHS, and for many, is still there after school is done, mentoring students, sponsoring school clubs and incorporating data-driven practices into the school curriculum to ensure her high schoolers thrive."

The foundation also praised Newton for her work in the classroom, citing her "innovative AI approaches for students to 'chat' with William Shakespeare" while studying Julius Caesar.

"Using the Socratic method for class debates stimulates engagement, higher-order thinking and ownership of learning," the foundation said of Newton's innovative approach to teaching.

In addition to her work in the classroom, Newton has served as adviser to the school's yearbook, led the Beta Club and academic team to multiple championships, and has been the student-nominated faculty partner for the annual Dancing with the Cards fine arts fundraiser.

Lindsey Wilson influencers

A Michigan native who grew up in nearby Russell Springs, Kentucky, Newton was influenced to become a teacher by one of her English teachers at Russell County High School -- Laura Ashley Egnew Davidson '03.

Davidson taught Newton ninth- and tenth-grade English, and Newton later served as Davidson's assistant.

"She always did everything with grace," said Newton. "When I saw her in the classroom, that was exactly what I wanted to be like. She was just a very real person. She had this way of making people feel like people."

At Lindsey Wilson, Newton was shaped by several of the school's English faculty, including professors Kerry Robertson, Tip Shanklin and Allison Smith.

"I would not be half the writer or know anything about writing without them," said Newton, who was a first-generation college graduate. "I still have a lot of my papers I wrote for them. Sometimes I look back at them and I'm like, 'Wow, this is really horrible writing,' but they never made me feel like it was bad. They were critical of my work without being mean because they were teachers who in their hearts knew that growth was the plan."

Newton said she takes a similar approach with her students, often using what's being studied in English classes to teach students larger life lessons.

"You play a part in all of these little people who are eventually going to be big people," she said. "It's being able to instill in them things that you want them to know. I love English, but it's not about English all the time. It's about that kid who just lost her mom or dad, and how do you teach that kid grit while still showing them empathy and grace? To see their little light bulbs go off is just so rewarding."

A big year

It's been a big year for Newton. In addition to the Milken award, earlier this year she and her husband, Dylan '14 & '19, learned they will welcome their first child in June. (The baby's due date will delay Newton's attendance at the Milken Educator Awards Forum by a year.)

Newton remains in contact with many of her students after they graduate from Taylor County High School, receiving updates about their life accomplishments. The day before Newton received her award, she was celebrating a former student who had just earned her doctorate in physical therapy.

"It's the best and most rewarding job in the world," said Newton. "I'm sure everybody says that about their job. If you asked a brain surgeon, 'Why do you do what you do?' He would say, 'Well, to save lives.' But in our own way, we are saving lives. We are helping kids, and we are building those people who are going to go on to be brain surgeons, counselors or an EMS worker. All roads start from education. So I just think it's the most rewarding job in the world."

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