Bend Senior High School teacher Andria Lindsey won the prestigious national Milken Educator Award for the state of Oregon, as well as gift check for $25,000. Lindsey is the chair of the math department and coordinator of the school's International Baccalaureate Programme.

Lindsey received the Milken Educator Award during a surprise assembly at Bend Senior High School on Dec. 12.

Watch the student body cheer as Andria Lindsey's name is announced:

Here are a few more of our favorite images from the celebration:

More about Andria Lindsey and the Milken Educator Award

From the Milken Educator Awards:

Educator Award by Oregon's Acting Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction Colt Gill and Milken Educator Awards Senior Vice President Dr. Jane Foley presented Lindsey the award. Lindsey is the only Milken Educator Award winner from Oregon this year and is one of 44 honorees for 2017-18.

The Milken Educator Awards, hailed by Teacher magazine as the "Oscars of Teaching" has been opening minds and shaping futures for 30 years. Research shows teacher quality is the driving in-school factor behind student growth and achievement. The initiative not only aims to reward great teachers, but to celebrate, elevate and activate those innovators in the classroom who are guiding America's next generation of leaders. Milken Educators believe, "The future belongs to the educated."

A passionate advocate of the International Baccalaureate program and head of the school's math department, Lindsey is not only a great teacher to her students but she's also a ready liaison to the community and a mentor to her colleagues. She keeps parents looped in and involved, helped her school district develop new math teaching standards and promotes STEM careers to students, particularly to young women who often eschew Science, Technology, Engineering and Math in favor of more traditional fields.

"Andria is a servant educator who ensures student successes through the development of exceptional relationships between students and staff that ensure every student is known by their name, strength and need," said Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Shay Mikalson. "Many of her former students return to share their post-secondary and college successes with her – and attribute much of their preparedness to her."

"Andria's passion and dedication to teaching and learning is second to none," said Bend High School Principal Christopher Reese. "Her number one priority is to create a classroom climate that is warm, inviting, safe and secure, and that is built on trust. Bend Senior High School is a better place because of her. She is an asset to education and an absolutely phenomenal teacher."

About Andria Lindsey

As coordinator of the International Baccalaureate program at Bend Senior High School in Bend, Oregon, math teacher Andria Lindsey serves as the ambassador for IB education in the local community. To celebrate the rigorous program's fifth year at Bend High, Lindsey put together a luncheon that included students, staff, elected officials, college presidents and business leaders. Highlighting IB's big-picture, cross-disciplinary philosophy and student coursework, Lindsey shared student success stories from high school, college admissions and beyond. She also started an IB parent advisory committee to keep families informed and create opportunities for their support. The IB program is flourishing under Lindsey's care: more than 450 students at Bend High take at least one IB class, and last year 26 students graduated with full IB diplomas.

In addition to her IB responsibilities, Lindsey teaches pre-calculus and calculus, both IB classes. She is known for her unparalleled ability to nurture students' love of math. Those who start in low-level math classes succeed in advanced classes like calculus because of Lindsey's holistic teaching style. She constantly checks in with students to make sure they understand the material and pushes them to explain why the math works—and if they're not getting it, she changes her approach immediately. Always available, Lindsey established Bend High's math lab to tutor struggling students, as well as a program that pairs high-schoolers with middle school students who need math help. She has even been known to help students with math problems via text while watching her own children's sporting events. Her students, 90% of whom take the IB math test, consistently score above the national average. Lindsey is credited with motivating young women to pursue STEM careers after graduating from Bend High.

For Lindsey, teaching is about building relationships. Students pile into her classroom at lunchtime, whether they're in her class or not. She goes to school soccer games, attends choir concerts and graduation parties, and coaches the equestrian team. Former students come back in droves on college breaks to share their "wins" with her. Contributing to her professional community is just as important. She has mentored teachers in her school and district, as well as some across the state, and has led classroom observation "learning walks" at Bend High. Lindsey heads the math department, sits on the school's curriculum and leadership teams, has helped the district develop new math standards, and is a member of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. An Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) trainer, Lindsey gives presentations about AVID to Bend High staff and the community.

Lindsey earned a bachelor's degree in cultural anthropology in 2000 from the University of California Santa Barbara and a master's of education in 2002 from Azusa Pacific University.