Lakes Math teacher receives 'Oscar of Teaching' Milken Educator Award, $25K prize

COEUR d'ALENE — Marcus Ross is among the best teachers in the country. 

The Lakes Middle School eighth grade and Advanced Learning Program math teacher received a Milken Educator Award on Tuesday. Along with being awarded a national honor considered the "Oscar of Teaching," Ross received an unrestricted $25,000 cash prize.

The surprise announcement was made in the Lakes gym, where district, municipal and state dignitaries joined students and staff in celebrating Ross during a high-energy assembly.

"I'm shocked and I'm honored and still trying to think of words," Ross said with a laugh. 

Ross, a former Lakes student, attended schools in the Coeur d'Alene School District from kindergarten until he graduated in 2014 from Lake City High School. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in elementary education with an endorsement in mathematics from Boise State University in 2019. 

"The moment I heard my name as the recipient of the Milken Educator Award, I instantly looked at, really, my students — the students around me who were cheering for me, my Kind Club students who were surrounding me who helped me get here," he said. 

He said he will probably spend much of the $25,000 on items for his classroom and plans to tuck some away for a future possibility of teaching overseas. 

Ross presents for Lakes’ Deeper Learning Institute and serves on the Professional Learning Community Guiding Coalition and the district's math academy. He is a model educator in the Lab Host Network, where he has opened his classroom for more than 100 teachers across several states to observe his teaching methods. This year, Ross is taking professional development to the next level at Lakes by completing an administrative internship.

Gabryelah Cook, one of Ross' students, said he is supportive of everybody in the class.

"He always tries his best to help us whenever he can," she said.

Sade Hoston, another one of Ross' students, said he helped her grow.

"Normally I would struggle with math, and because of him I am able to achieve higher math and I now have higher grades and now I'm doing high school credit and I'm really good at it thanks to him," she said.

Ross was honored as part of the Milken Family Foundation’s 2024-2025 Milken Educator Awards season. The tour will honor up to 45 pioneering professionals coast to coast, marking the 3,000th Milken Educator in the Awards’ ranks.

This season will reach more than $75 million in individual cash prizes since the program's inception in 1987 and over $145 million invested in the Milken Educator Award national network.

Ross encouraged young people to pursue education as a career and follow their dreams.

"Follow your heart, because that's all you can do," he said.

Ross is the 21st Idaho educator to earn the Milken Educator Award, three of whom work in the Coeur d'Alene School District. Deputy Superintendent Mike Nelson, who taught Spanish for 13 years at Coeur d’Alene High School, received the Milken Educator Award in 2005. Katie Graupman, the district's curriculum coordinator, received the award in 2010 while teaching English language arts and journalism at Timberlake High School in the Lakeland Joint School District.

    Surrounded by beaming colleagues and administrators, Lakes Middle School eighth grade math teacher Marcus Ross calls his mom Wednesday morning to tell her he won a Milken Educator Award, a national honor that recognizes innovative instructional practices and exceptional leadership.
  

    Flanked by Milken Educator Awards Senior Vice President Jane Foley and Idaho Lt. Gov. Scott Bedke, Lakes eighth grade math teacher Marcus Ross addresses the crowd Wednesday after learning he is a 2024 recipient of the Milken Educator Award.
  

    Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield says a few words Wednesday morning at Lakes Middle School as she congratulates teacher Marcus Ross for being a 2024 Milken Educator Award recipient.
  

    Confetti flies as Marcus Ross shakes Milken Educator Awards Senior Vice President Jane Foley's hand in disbelief Wednesday morning after learning he won the award plus a $25,000 cash prize. The celebration was attended by several dignitaries, including Idaho Lt. Gov. Scott Bedke, right.
  

    Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield adds a zero Wednesday morning as some of Lakes Middle School math teacher Marcus Ross' students hold up numbers to reveal the amount of Ross' cash prize. He won $25,000 as well as the Milken Educator Award.