Latest news with #LibertyCommonHighSchool
CBS News
08-03-2025
- General
- CBS News
At surprise assembly, Northern Coloradan awarded "Oscar of Teaching" and a $25,000 cash prize
A Fort Collins teacher has been recognized with a national award after years of working as an educator and school administrator. Christopher Reynolds of Liberty Common High School in Fort Collins was given the Milken Educator Award, a recognition given to the most influential teachers in America. The announcement of the award, which is paired with $25,000 for personal use, came during a surprise assembly at the school on Friday morning. "All of the students were called down for an assembly we didn't know about. We were all shocked," said Anagha Mathur, a senior at the school. Students and staff at Liberty Common were told this was an assembly to recognize the school for their performance in recent testing. "I thought the commissioner was coming to talk about SAT scores and possibly a school-wide award from the state," Reynolds said. However, as the assembly went on it was clear, the students were there to celebrate the success of one of their teachers. However, the mystery of which teacher was still looming over both students and staff. Then, the team from the Milken Educator Award announced that Reynolds would be the winner for the 2024-2025 school year in Colorado. "I saw all the instructors in the crowd and thought, 'Wow, any one of these can win it.' So, there was even more shock the minute I heard my name. It was pretty unexpected," Reynolds said. Recognized as the "Oscar of Teaching," Reynolds was handed the title and also a large check written out for $25,000. He does not have to use it in the school but can take it home to his family. "Mr. Reynolds won $25,000 today because of the amazing teacher he is to all the students," Mathur said. Reynolds, an assistant principal, is also a teacher in the high school. "I teach microeconomics, which can seem kind of dull if you don't have someone to bring it alive. So, that is one of my passions," Reynolds said. "He definitely has a passion for the subject. It is great to be in there with him," said Bennett Whelan, a senior. Reynolds' students applauded him, later telling Thomas he has helped them find a way to learn a difficult subject in a fun way. "I think Mr. Reynolds is one of those teachers with the perfect blend of sociability and he is knowledgeable in the subject," Whelan said. "You get the best of both worlds. Where you learn the subject, you have fun while doing it. You are engaged. It is the perfect class." "I think his genuine care for his students stands out more than anything. I always get extra help with him and he is always willing to talk to me outside of class," Mathur said. Reynolds called his wife shortly after the assembly to tell her of the news. She celebrated with him over the phone and told him he deserved his recognition. Reynolds said he was honored to receive the recognition but also felt any one of his peers was equally deserving at Liberty Common. "The educators make the difference. They can teach with mastery and help their students love the content more than anything. A really great teacher does that," Reynolds said.
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Liberty Common teacher, administrator earns prestigioius Milken Educator Award
Chris Reynolds was sitting in the back of the gym with a handful of other teachers during an all-school assembly Friday morning at Liberty Common High School. He had no idea, what was coming. Then, in an effort to mimic a televised entertainment awards show, Colorado Commissioner of Education Susana Cordova, opened a sealed envelope and announced that Reynolds had won a Milken Educator Award, complete with an unrestricted $25,000 cash prize. The awards were designed to be 'the Oscars of education,' said presenter Jane Foley, senior vice president of the Milken Educator Awards. 'We have a great Spanish teacher who was sitting behind me, and I was like, 'Oh gosh, it's going to be you,'' Reynolds said. 'I was kind of shocked when they said my name.' Reynolds is the only Milken Educator Award winner in Colorado this year and one of just 45 nationally, Foley said. Besides Foley, a 1994 winner while she was teaching in Indiana, 10 other previous winners from five different states were on hand for the award presentation, including Scott DeVries, a retired teacher at Preston Middle School in Fort Collins who won the award in 1999. More: Rocky Mountain High School science teacher receives Presidential Award for Excellence All of this year's winners also receive an all-expenses paid trip to the Milken Educator Awards Forum from April 1-3 in Los Angeles, where they will have the opportunity to network with other educators 'about how to broaden their impact on K-12 education,' the Milken Family Foundation said in a news release. This year's winners will each be paired with a veteran Milken Educator mentor. 'I'm at a loss for words,' Reynolds told the assembly after receiving his award. 'My main thought is there's so many other deserving people in this building that could have and should have won this award. And so, I'm grateful to all of you that I get to work with all of you. I love my students.' Reynolds is the assistant principal at Liberty Common High School, a charter school authorized by Poudre School District. He teaches an Advanced Placement course in microeconomics and also is the school's cross-country coach and former athletic director. Reynolds taught economics, government, history and philosophy for 11 years at Mead High School before coming to Liberty Common four years ago, after the oldest of his two children was selected through a lottery to attend Liberty Common's elementary school. 'He's just been a perfect addition to the teaching faculty and now the administration,' said Bob Schaffer, Liberty Common's co-founder, headmaster and a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives. 'His training is classical, his commitment to the academic discipline of his coursework is pretty profound and pretty deep. He's an academic leader not just in his classroom and his department but for the entire school.' Reynolds has a particular knack, Schaffer said, for helping students 'who have to put a little extra effort and work into getting across the finish line' to earn a high school diploma. 'He's a godsend.' Foley travels the country throughout the school year honoring winners of the Milken Educator Awards, created in 1987 by philanthropist Lowell Milken. The goal, she said, is to honor teachers who are in the early to middle stages of their career for what they have achieved and the promise of what they can accomplish. There are three goals, she said, in honoring the nation's top K-12 educators. The first is to 'reward them and give them an incentive to stay in the profession,' Foley said. 'The second goal is to bring public recognition and acknowledgement' of the 'good that's happening in education.' And the third, she said, is to get students in the audience to consider careers in education. 'We hope somebody will go home today and say, 'I'm going to be a teacher; I'm going to be a principal, just like Mr. Reynolds.' Reporter Kelly Lyell covers education, breaking news, some sports and other topics of interest for the Coloradoan. Contact him at kellylyell@ and This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Liberty Common teacher, administrator wins prestigious national award
