Aberdeen, S.D. (February 13, 2025) — Today was a standard schoolwide assembly for Roncalli Middle/Senior High School teacher Dan Gallagher and his middle school students until things took a surprising turn. South Dakota Secretary of Education Dr. Joseph Graves invited a new guest to take the stage: Milken Educator Awards Vice President Jennifer Fuller. Fuller surprised the entire school when she announced Gallagher as having received the prestigious Milken Educator Award along with a check for $25,000! Gallagher accepted the honor in front of a gymnasium full of cheering students, faculty, dignitaries and members of the media.

“Dan Gallagher’s commitment to this community is evident from his leadership in the classroom to the basketball court,” said Fuller, a Texas 2017 Milken Educator herself. “Educators receive this distinction for their creative approach to education, their service to their school and students, and long-range impact on the greater community. We are thrilled to welcome Dan into our national network today!”

Gallagher joins over 3,000 Milken Educators spanning the Awards’ nearly 40-year history as the nation’s preeminent teacher-recognition program. Hailed as the “Oscars of Teaching,” the Milken Educator Awards inspire educators, students and communities to “Celebrate, Elevate and Activate” the K-12 teaching profession and encourage young, capable people to pursue teaching as a career. More than $75 million in individual financial prizes and more than $145 million have been invested in the Milken Educator Award national network overall.

“Dan Gallagher is a living example of what excellence in teaching looks like,” said Secretary Graves. “He has a reputation as a teacher who inspires students to put forth their best efforts in all they do; he cheers their successes and holds students accountable in all areas. He sets the bar high, and his students rise to meet his expectations. Dan is a credit to the Aberdeen Catholic School System and to the teaching profession in South Dakota.”

Outstanding educators like Gallagher are not aware of their candidacy for the Award. Recipients are sought out while early- to mid-career for what they have achieved — and for the promise of what they will accomplish given the resources and opportunities afforded by the Award.