Bluffton High teacher receives $25,000 ‘Oscar of teaching’ award

At a surprise assembly Thursday morning, a Bluffton High School teacher received one of the most prestigious awards in education and a $25,000 check to use however she wants.

Erin Reichert, 39, is the only Milken Educator Award winner from South Carolina for 2017-18, and among 44 winners nationally. A handful of educators in their early to mid-career are selected annually for the Milken, which is also known as an “Oscar of teaching.

Reichert, a social studies teacher, has been at Bluffton High since 2007. She previously worked as a teacher in Illinois, her home state.

Educators cannot apply for the Milken and don’t even know they are under consideration. State education departments confidentially identify potential candidates and send the “most exceptional” to the Milken Family Foundation for a final decision, officials said.

In 2012, Reichert was selected as the district’s Teacher of the Year. Most recently, the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution recognized Reichert as chapter winner of the Outstanding Teacher of American History Contest.

Reichert is the second district teacher to receive a Milken award. Lady’s Island Elementary School fifth-grade teacher Debbie Stickle Smith received the award in 2004.

This story has been updated. Read the latest version here.

This story was originally published January 18, 2018 at 9:30 AM with the headline "Bluffton High teacher receives $25,000 ‘Oscar of teaching’ award."