Colorado elementary teacher Shana Engel has garnered a prestigious Milken Educator Award for 2025-2026. Photo credit; La Voz Colorado
It is always my pleasure to share the story of a talented educator who has earned recognition for her work in the classroom. One of these is Shana Engel, an elementary school school teacher from Colorado who has garnered a prestigious Milken Educator Award for 2025-2026. She is one of only 30 educators to be so honored this year.
Shana teaches mathematics to sixth graders at Mountain Vista Community School, a public school located in Colorado Springs.
Shana is very active on her campus. She organizes opportunities for students to engage with math through the school’s STEM Club, Robotics Club, and Math Tutoring club. And she also encourages parents to volunteer in her classrooms.
In addition to her work with her students, Shana serves on her school’s math committee, and she has been named both the sixth-grade team lead and the middle school math lead. As if all that were not enough, she mentors beginning teachers through the University of Colorado Springs. And she leads professional development on such topics as student engagement strategies and math reasoning.
The daughter of a US serviceman and a homemaker from Korea, Shana says she decided to become an educator when she was a teenager. “I’ve wanted to be a teacher since I was a student at Mesa Ridge High School in Colorado Springs,” she reveals. “We had an elementary education elective class at school, which allowed us to visit the surrounding elementary schools and volunteer. I loved being in the school environment as someone the students looked up to and sought help from,” she continues.
Shana earned a Bachelor’s degree in History with an Elementary Education endorsement from University of California, Colorado Springs, in 2012.
The Milken Educator Awards have been described by Teacher Magazine as the “Oscars of Teaching.” In addition to the $25,000 cash prize and public recognition, the award includes membership in the National Milken Educator Network, a group of more than 2,700 exemplary teachers, principals, and specialists from all over the country whose work strengthens best practices in education. To learn more, click on Milken Educator Awards.
