Melissa Bott's mother told her to choose a career for the money. She didn't listen.
But hard work paid off for the reading specialist at McPolin Elementary School in Park City. She was awarded $25,000 from the Milken Family Foundation on Tuesday.
Bott, 33, of Park City, was in tears as she accepted the award. "The whole staff should be up here because I can't do my job without you," she said and invited her colleagues to join her for a "group hug."
Stephanie Mayernik, reading specialist aide at McPolin, said Bott is a great person to work under. "She has a lot of trust in us and lets us work independently," Mayernik said. "And she works hard herself."
The award was a well-kept secret in order to surprise Bott during an assembly on the school playground. Park City fire and police officers showed up to keep the ruse of a safety award celebration. State and district education officials also attended.
Richard Sandler, executive vice president of Milken, had fun with the students as he built up the excitement while the crowd waited to find out the surprise.
Sandler praised excellent educators. "I don't think we say thank you to our teachers enough," he said.
Bott graduated from the University of Utah in 1998 with a bachelor's degree in education. She plans to use some of her award money to return to school to earn a master's degree in education. She also wants to give some to McPolin Elementary.
Bott's mother, Nancy Witt, works as a speech therapist at McPolin and has always shared her love for education with her daughter. Bott says she was also inspired by her third-grade teacher, Tommy Tanzer, who taught at Parley's Park Elementary School.
"I remember how he treated me and the other students and how he made me feel," she said. "That was the first year I moved here and I was accepted. He made sure I got the best education I possibly could."
After the event, third-grader Jace Barrett, 8, decided to practice his math skills. Scribbling with his pencil on lined notebook paper, he divided four into $25,000, then proudly showed Principal Bob Emiston how much he and his three friends would have.
What would Barrett do with $6,250?
"Buy candy," he said.
McPolin is a Title 1 school with about 35 percent students on free or reduced lunch. About 40 percent are Hispanic, and of those students about 35 percent are in the English Language Learning program.
For the school's reading program, McPolin and several aides go into classrooms and help students increase their reading skills while working in small groups.
Bott and her husband, Rich, have two children, ages 4 and 19 months.
The Milken Family Foundation gives unrestricted financial awards of $25,000 to 80 exceptional educators nationwide who work hard and strive to be role models. Winners will attend an all-expenses-paid trip to Los Angeles to participate in a conference.
There is only one Utah winner this school year. There have been 26 Milken award recipients in the state since the program began 22 years ago.
E-mail: astewart@desnews.com