National Award for Tulip Grove Teacher

On the day, Nov. 21, that Landefeld learned of her win, she was told only that State Superintendent of Schools Nancy S. Grasmick would be stopping at her classroom as part of a visit to Tulip Grove.

"Make sure your room's clean; company's coming," Landefeld said her principal told her.

Barbara Landefeld was told that an instructional supervisor with responsibility for Tulip Grove had a doctor's appointment and asked whether she could attend the Grasmick event in her place. Landefeld said she assumed the assembly would be fairly routine.

But when a vice president of the Milken Educator Awards took the microphone, Barbara said, she leaned over to her boss, sitting next to her, and whispered, "Oh my gosh, someone's getting the Milken!"

"Oh, I guess," the boss replied, intent on maintaining the ruse.

When Shannon's name was announced, her father, Steve -- who had been informed in advance and kept the secret for a week -- appeared from nowhere. "I was just shocked," Shannon said of the moment.

"I was beside myself, jumping up and down," her mother said.

Landefeld said she was particularly proud that her daughter was honored because she remembered that Shannon had struggled as a first-year teacher. Hers is a story of perseverance that probably impressed the foundation, which also studies ways to keep teachers in the profession.

In her first year, Shannon Landefeld had trouble managing her classroom and balancing lesson planning with learning the ropes of her school. She was often at school until 8 p.m. Barbara Landefeld said phone calls for advice became so lengthy that the two teachers were forced to set limits.

"We'll talk about this for a half-hour, and then we're done," they would agree, Barbara said.

But the next year, Shannon said, was a little easier. By her third year, she thought she'd gotten the hang of things. Now she helps write classroom curricula and runs training sessions for other teachers.

Landefeld will receive her $25,000 check at a ceremony for the national winners in Los Angeles in the spring.

She said she has not decided how to spend the money. In the meantime, she has been taking suggestions from students. Those in her homeroom class suggested, naturally, dividing up the funds among the students. Another child recommended taking students to Popeyes for lunch.

"I said, 'That's easy! I can do that now!' " Landefeld said, laughing.

One option she has been considering, she said, is spending some of the money on travel, including a possible trip to Greece over the summer as part of a program to teach English.

"Whatever I do," she said, "I'll save and invest."