On Thursday, December 19, an assembly at Hollister Middle School was billed as a pre-holiday celebration of the school’s community accomplishments, but ended with a special surprise for HMS social studies teacher Dallas DeWeese. At the assembly, Milken Educator Awards Vice President Stephanie Bishop announced DeWeese as the Missouri Milken Educator Award recipient for this school year.
A surprised DeWeese joined Bishop and Missouri Commissioner of Education Dr. Karla Eslinger in front of cheering students, colleagues, local dignitaries and area news media, to accept the honor, along with a check for $25,000. It was an historic day for DeWeese and the Hollister R-V School District, as he is the first Milken Educator Award recipient from the district; he is the 55th in Missouri. Several previous Missouri honorees were in attendance to congratulate DeWeese.
The Milken Educator Awards were established by the Milken Family Foundation in 1987, as philanthropist and education visionary Lowell Milken believed public recognition and financial awards were appropriate not only for outstanding athletes, entertainers, scientists, etc., but even more so for the K-12 teachers, principals and specialists around the nation whose dedication trains such achievers.
Bishop, a former theater arts teacher, made the assembly fun and suspenseful by inviting several students forward for a “math exercise,” holding posters with successive zeros to reach $25,000. While the students seemed to think the starting figure of $25 was a bit inadequate, there was a collective gasp as the final zero was added before announcing DeWeese as the recipient.
“Dallas DeWeese has woven himself into the fabric of this school and community, leaving a permanent impact on the hearts and lives of every student he has had the opportunity to teach, coach or mentor,” said Bishop, herself a Milken Educator from Virginia in 2001. “His enthusiasm for education and passion to see his students succeed are evident in everything he does, and I am pleased to present him with the Milken Educator Award today.”
“We are thrilled to have the Milken Family Foundation recognize one of Missouri’s many exceptional teachers with this award,” said Dr. Eslinger. “The work that Dallas does every day to care for and educate his students makes a difference not just in that student’s life, but the lives of their families and the community as a whole.” Both Eslinger and Bishop encouraged current and former students to seek out and thank educators who have made a difference in their lives.
More than $75 million in individual financial prizes and more than $145 million have been invested in the Milken Educator Award national network, in hopes of inspiring capable young people to enter the profession. Educators like DeWeese are not told of their candidacy for the Award, as recipients are sought out early- to mid-career for what they have achieved and will accomplish given the opportunities afforded by the Award.
DeWeese implements a holistic approach to education, integrating language arts, science and math into social studies lessons to reinforce concepts across the curriculum while also creating individualized paths for each student to build skills that will serve them well beyond their time at Hollister. Enriching, engaging activities excite and inspire his students, who are so eager to join DeWeese’s classes that enrollment in the student council nearly quadrupled when he took the helm. Students in this class develop their own student government and civilization, with real-world learning activities like the creation of a business plan proposal, budget and operations strategy. DeWeese created the Tiger Coffee Shop, giving students valuable skills in customer relations and leadership.
In accepting the award, DeWeese acknowledged his colleagues and administration for their ongoing support, and told the students, “You all push me to be a better person every day.”
Also surprised but thrilled by the news was Dallas’s wife, Montana DeWeese, who teaches fifth grade at Hollister. Administrators created an excuse for Mrs. DeWeese to visit the assembly shortly after the presentation, where she embraced her husband with tears of joy and told him the award was well-deserved.
DeWeese’s influence extends school-wide as the leader of the Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) committee, a team that analyzes behavior data and identifies trends to help teachers appropriately address issues and implement positive incentives. As a result, HMS has noticed an increase in positive behavior referrals and an overall improvement in student and school culture.
DeWeese earned his Bachelor of Science in physical education from the College of the Ozarks and a Master of Education in curriculum and instruction leadership from Evangel University. He has presented at the TriLakes Summit and district continuing education sessions. He is also a caring community leader, heading the school’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter and coaching basketball and softball. He sits with students at lunch, tutors outside of class, chairs the assembly focus team, and serves as the seventh grade team leader.
The Milken Educator Award reaps lifelong benefits. Recipients have used the $25,000 cash Award in diverse ways including their children’s or their own education, dream field trips, establishing scholarships and even adopting children. Honorees also receive mentorship for expanded leadership roles that strengthen education practice and policy, through Milken Friends Forever which pairs new recipients with mentors; the Expanding MFF Resource and Explorer Program fostering partnerships around specific topic areas; and Activating Milken Educators for group collaboration in and across states. Honorees will attend an all-expenses-paid Milken Educator Awards Forum in Los Angeles in April 2025, networking with new colleagues and other education leaders about how to broaden their impact. Milken Educators demonstrate a wide range of leadership roles at state, national and international levels.
Follow the Milken Educator Awards tour using hashtag #MilkenAward on social media, or visit MilkenEducatorAwards.org to learn more about this valuable encouragement to excellence in education. And when an opportunity arises, thank a local educator for their hard work!
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