For moviebuffs (or, I should say, Netflix-buffs), this is the season we wait for all year. Finally, the films that make us think are released with actors that aren’t surrounded by 95 percent CGI environments or talking animals (not that there’s anything wrong with that!). But I’m also beginning to think that “awards season” isn’t just limited to the release of movies directed by Clint Eastwood or written by Paul Haggis. This is the time of year that, through a slew of education awards, we’re introduced to educators that make us think, as well.

Witness yesterday’s announcement of Washington’s Milken Family Foundation Award Winner: Renton’s Cascade Elementary School Principal, Shannon Harvey. Harvey has spent her entire career in the Renton School District as a special education teacher and has been Cascade’s principal in 2004.

In 2007, Harvey was selected by a group of 13 elementary principals in the Renton School District to be their team leader. She mentors aspiring administrators, as well as teachers seeking National Board certification. Fred Row, assistant superintendent for learning and teaching at the Renton School District, wrote in a letter of praise, "If a district could have every principal function as an instruction leader as Harvey does, there would be no students left behind in their buildings."

The award ceremony, which took place in Cascade’s gym and included a $25,000 check, was a complete surprise.

According to the Seattle Times, as Harvey "wiped away tears and [she] explained that she thought everyone had been brought into the gymnasium because the school was going to be honored for improving test scores. Under her leadership, Cascade has gone from 48 percent of students passing the reading test of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning to 81 percent passing the test.”

"It seems unfair to be honored for something I love," she said.

Sound a bit like an Oscar speech? Maybe. But as much as movie stars do for popular culture, they will simply never have the true impact on individuals’ lives as educators like Harvey.

"To be effective, principals must see near and far," said Supt. Terry Bergeson at the ceremony. "Shannon has that amazing vision. Her leadership and organizational skills help keep the day-to-day machinery at Cascade running smoothly.”

"More important, she uses data to make sure no students fall through the cracks. In 2007, not a single student at Cascade scored at the lowest level on the reading WASL. That kind of dedication to each student makes her a worthy winner of the Milken Award."

What if all principals could learn from and share Harvey’s passion and dedication? Kind of makes you think, doesn’t it?

To learn more about Shannon Harvey and the Milken Award, visit OSPI's website.