SLS 24RS-3967 ORIGINAL
2024 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 112
BY SENATORS MIGUEZ AND ALLAIN
COMMENDATIONS. Commends Christine Bayard for winning the Milken Educator
Award.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To commend Christine Bayard for winning the Milken Educator Award considered to be the
3 "Oscars of Teaching".
4 WHEREAS, Christine Bayard, a sixth-grade math teacher at Johnston-Hopkins
5 Elementary School in New Iberia, Louisiana, has earned a national award for her approach
6 to teaching; and
7 WHEREAS, upon winning the national award Ms. Bayard also wins a $25,000
8 unrestricted cash prize allowing her to spend the funds as she wishes; and
9 WHEREAS, Ms. Bayard is an alumnus of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette
10 where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a minor in child and family
11 studies in 2009 and completed a post-baccalaureate certification for middle school math
12 education in 2017; and
13 WHEREAS, Ms. Bayard founded the Johnston-Hopkins (JHOP) Elementary School's
14 math club, works with the Junior Beta Club, serves on JHOP's instructional leadership team
15 as a mentor teacher in partnership with the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching
16 (NIET) and assists with JHOP's end of the year "Fun Day"; and
17 WHEREAS, Ms. Bayard has contributed her skill set on both state and national
18 levels, serving as a certified Louisiana mentor teacher and was featured at the 2023 national
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1 NIET conference with her master teacher on effective coaching strategies; and
2 WHEREAS, the state Superintendent of Education, Dr. Cade Brumley states that
3 "Ms. Bayard's classroom is an innovative space where math transcends textbooks and
4 students engage in real world lessons. Her commitment to a student-centered approach is
5 seen through academic outcomes and the difference she has made throughout her school.";
6 and
7 WHEREAS, Ms. Bayard's 6th grade students explore math concepts far beyond the
8 pages of a textbook by engaging in units to see how math plays a pivotal role in daily life,
9 such as when she dons a full space suit for class and transforms lessons on decimals and rate
10 reasoning into experiences that are truly "out of this world" by having students calculate how
11 much food, water, and oxygen is needed to live on Mars for two years, how long a Mars text
12 message would take to send to Earth, and how many days it would take to ride a horse to the
13 moon; and
14 WHEREAS, Ms. Bayard's classroom also becomes a construction site, where
15 students use cubes to build habitats after calculating the cost, revenue, and profit or loss for
16 their projects; and
17 WHEREAS, Ms. Bayard's classroom has stepped foot into the racing world where
18 students explored fractions by virtually building race cars, working through weight's effect
19 on speed and velocity; and
20 WHEREAS, games are no stranger to her students who are eager to review what they
21 have learned by competing in "mathketball" teams as a result of them learning consistent
22 value-added achievement growth due to Ms. Bayard's "astronomical" instructional and
23 professional leadership; and
24 WHEREAS, Milken Educator Awards Founder Lowell Milken states: "We thank
25 Christine for selecting teaching for her career and look forward to the contributions she will
26 bring to the national Milken Educator Network" which is a national group of exceptional
27 professionals working to "celebrate, elevate, and activate" the K-12 profession; and
28 WHEREAS, The Milken Educator Award honored up to seventy-five recipients
29 across the country in 2023-2024 and all recipients will attend an all-expenses paid Milken
30 Educator Awards Forum in Los Angeles in June where they will network with new
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1 colleagues as well as veteran Milken Educators as they will develop powerful mentorship
2 opportunities for expanded leadership roles on the state, national, and international levels.
3 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
4 does hereby commend Christine Bayard, a sixth-grade math teacher at Johnston-Hopkins
5 Elementary School in New Iberia, for winning the national Milken Educator Award.
6 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
7 Christine Bayard.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Celeste Ellis.
DIGEST
SR 112 Original 2024 Regular Session Miguez
Commends Christine Bayard, a 6th grade math teacher at Johnston-Hopkins Elementary
School in New Iberia, for winning the national Milken Educator Award.
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