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A school-wide assembly at LISA Academy North Middle-High School in North Little Rock took a surprising turn today when the Milken Family Foundation entered the gymnasium for a special announcement: Jaime Garcia, the school’s dean of academics and Drew Central High School alumnus, is the newest Milken Educator Award recipient. The prestigious recognition comes with an unrestricted cash prize of $25,000. Dr. Joshua Barnett, representing the Milken Family Foundation as CEO of the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching, was joined by Arkansas Department of Education Secretary Jacob Oliva to present the Award to Garcia before a gymnasium of cheering students, educators, dignitaries and media.
“We are proud to recognize extraordinary educators like Jaime Garcia, whose dedication to this school and student body sets a national standard for excellence,” said Dr. Barnett. “We celebrate Jaime today, not only for his outstanding leadership, but also for his deep passion to help every student at LISA Academy North Middle-High School thrive.”
Garcia is the sole Arkansas recipient for 2025-26 and the state’s 84th recipient since Arkansas joined the Milken Educator Awards program in 1991.
“From the classroom to the front office, Jaime Garcia has made excellence the standard,” said Secretary Oliva. “His leadership and commitment inspire both students and educators to aim higher, think deeper and never settle for average. Congratulations to Jaime Garcia on this great honor!”
The Milken Family Foundation’s 2025-26 tour will honor 30 educators coast to coast – adding to the Milken Educator Network of more than 3,000 professionals nationwide. Created by philanthropist and education visionary Lowell Milken in 1987, the Milken Educator Awards represent America’s preeminent educator recognition initiative, inspiring educators, students and communities to “Celebrate, Elevate and Activate” the K-12 teaching profession. By the end of this season, more than $76 million in individual financial prizes and more than $146 million will have been invested in the Milken Educator Award national network overall.
Outstanding educators like Garcia 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.
Leading with Calm Strength and Support: Students and teachers at LISA Academy North Middle-High School rely on Jaime Garcia’s calm, supportive presence to help advance student achievement to new heights. As the dean of academics, Garcia oversees curriculum alignment, instructional coaching, state assessment coordination, and data analysis of student performance. Leading with a solution-oriented, data-driven mindset—drawn from his experience as a math instructional coach and secondary math teacher—Garcia mentors teachers, observes classes, guides professional learning community (PLC) implementation, and develops leaders through enrichment programs and structured support.
Encouraging Mentor for Students and Staff: With an aptitude for math, Garcia’s ability to take the “fear factor” out of the subject for students has served him well. He implemented a math mentorship program that benefits students across several grades: in small groups, middle school students grow their confidence and math skills with the help of senior class mentors, who enjoy early release Fridays for their participation. Garcia encourages students to flex their math muscles outside of the classroom, whether through the school’s career readiness leadership program (CRLP) in math or on the school’s MathCounts team, which he has led to compete in consecutive state competitions. During his tenure at LISA Academy, Garcia served on the instructional leadership team (ILT) and on curriculum development committees, while leading professional development sessions and sharing his peer mentorship program at conferences.
Partners with Parents for Success: Garcia is a welcoming resource at LISA Academy for all students and their families. His ability to communicate with Spanish-speakers has been instrumental to unlocking student success and parent engagement for the school’s growing Hispanic population. Garcia is also a Handle With Care behavior management team member at the school.
Education: Garcia earned a Bachelor of Science in mathematics in 2012 from the University of Arkansas at Monticello and a Master of Science in applied mathematics in 2015 from the University of Central Arkansas.
