Katie Guidry of Denham Springs High School becomes Louisiana’s 56th Milken Educator
DENHAM SPRINGS, La. — Students, staff, and local leaders gathered with Louisiana State Superintendent of Education Dr. Cade Brumley at Denham Springs High School today for what they thought was a celebration of the school’s work to raise student achievement. Then a second guest, Milken Educator Awards Vice President Jennifer Fuller, announced the real news: a $25,000 Milken Educator Award for English language arts teacher Katie Guidry.
“Katie Guidry helps students find their path while building the next generation of Louisiana teachers,” said Dr. Brumley. “She reaches beyond her own campus to develop partnerships that give students college credit and a head start on a career before they graduate.”
The award has no application or nomination process. It recognizes K-12 educators early to mid-career for what they have achieved and for the promise of what they will accomplish. The $25,000 prize is unrestricted, so Guidry may use it however she chooses. She is Louisiana’s 56th recipient since the state joined the program in 2001 and the state’s second and final recipient this school year, after Allison Smith of A.E. Phillips Laboratory School in Ruston. She joins a national network of more than 3,000 Milken Educators and will attend the Milken Educator Awards Forum in Washington, D.C., June 4-6, 2027.
More about Katie Guidry
Guidry teaches 10th-grade English language arts, a Bible as Literature elective, and Educators Rising courses for students interested in teaching careers. She helped launch the Educators Rising program at Denham Springs High, where students take Foundations of Education and Multicultural Learning Communities, two courses in Louisiana’s Pre-Educator Pathway. They gain hands-on experience through peer mentoring, classroom observations, and shadow teaching, and a partnership Guidry secured with Southeastern Louisiana University lets them earn college credit. She also shares classroom strategies with teachers across Livingston Parish, founded the REACH Club (“Respect Everyone And Create Harmony”) to build peer support between students who receive special education services and their general education peers, and sponsors the school’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter.
Guidry earned a Bachelor of Arts in English education from Northwestern State University in 2015.
See Guidry’s full biography, photos, and video on the Milken Educator Awards website.
More about the Milken Educator Award
- The $25,000 cash Award is unrestricted. Recipients have used the money in diverse ways. Some recipients have spent the funds on their children’s or their own continuing education, financing dream field trips, establishing scholarships, and even adopting children.
- Honorees receive powerful mentorship opportunities for expanded leadership roles that strengthen education practice and policy. Milken Friends Forever (MFF) pairs a new recipient with a veteran Milken Educator mentor; the Expanding MFF Resource and Explorer Program fosters individual veteran Milken Educator partnerships around specific topic areas; Activating Milken Educators (AME) promotes group collaboration in and across states to bring solutions to pressing educational needs; and the Milken Educator Collective connects recipients with shared content areas, grade levels, or professional roles. Milken MeetUps abound across the nation to deepen learning and connection and expand innovation in education.
- The honorees will attend an all-expenses-paid Milken Educator Awards Forum from June 4-6, 2027, in Washington, D.C., where they will network with their new colleagues, as well as veteran Milken Educators and other leaders, about how to amplify their voices as beacons of excellence in the profession.
- Veteran Milken Educators demonstrate a wide range of leadership roles at state, national and international levels.
Visit MilkenEducatorAwards.org or call the Milken Family Foundation at (310) 570-4772 for more information.
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