Getting back into the swing of things after the holiday break is energizing, and the Harrisburg School District certainly started 2018 with a fun event. I was fortunate to be in attendance as Carla Diede, a math teacher at Harrisburg South Middle School, was presented with the $25,000 Milken Educator Award on Jan. 4.

This award was presented during an all-school assembly, but the true purpose of the gathering was kept secret. Students and teachers were under the assumption that officials with the Department of Education were visiting to celebrate Harrisburg’s work with personalized learning (which, by the way, is work worth celebrating).

At the last minute, Greg Gallagher with the Milken Educator Awards stepped up to the microphone with the news that a teacher in the audience was about to receive a $25,000 surprise. You can read more about Carla Diede and this award in the main story of this issue of the Ed Online.

As I step into my new role as Secretary of Education, I admit I’m not used to starting a New Year with quite so many new things happening at once, but I embrace the challenge before me. Having spent my career to this point in the Bristol, Britton-Hecla and Meade school districts and serving on the state Board of Education Standards, I am fortunate to know many of you in the field already.

Whether we’ve met or have yet to meet, I look forward to working with you.