In May 2018, we launched the One In A Million (OIAM) feature series. Each month during the academic year, we highlight a phenomenal teacher who is doing amazing work & transforming the lives of youth. In partnership with varied local media & business outlets, the prize package for the featured teacher has included prizes like:
***MDTP & Community Gift Packages differ from month to month depending on availability & sponsorship level, if any.
At the end of the academic year, the whole community is invited to vote for their favorite educator from our One in A Million (OIAM) featured teachers for the Feel Like a Million Dollars (FLMD) Grand Prize. Thank you for taking the time to vote on the most impactful OIAM teacher from the 2023/2024 school year!
Earning 34% of the overall vote, our 2023/24 FLMD Grand Prize-winning teacher is Fernanda Cesar, a 2nd-5th grade Resource teacher at Thew Elementary School in the Tempe Elementary School District. Ms. Cesar was announced and awarded at our 3rd annual Adult Field Trip on Friday, July 26, 2024 at the Children’s Museum of Phoenix in front of over 200 of Arizona’s biggest Teacher Fans. She took home a $2,000 cash prize, compliments of Train’s Station, and a prize package valued at $12,000, including gifts from the Proctor Foundation, Dress for Success, Phoenix Rising Football Club, Phoenix Raceway, Arizona Mills, Arizona Financial Credit Union, Desert Botanical Gardens, Kendra Scott, Hot Air Expeditions, Chicken N Pickle, Huss Brewery, Lake Pleasant Cruises, and Flagship Restaurant Group, to name just a few. Ms. Cesar accepted her award surrounded by many Thew One In A Million cohorts and colleagues. Congratulations, Ms. Cesar!
"I feel very appreciated, happy, shocked, surprised, but also thankful. Sometimes teachers feel under-supported and knowing that I have a team supporting me and rooting me on as I follow my dreams of being a teacher feels great. And also I won all these cool prizes!"
Million Dollar Teacher Tree was first developed in a classroom by students in a program called, Next Generation Service Corps at Arizona State University in December of 2017. These students were tasked by Lloyd Hopkins, founder of Million Dollar Teacher project with developing a project that can potentially become an integral part in helping MDTP achieve its mission. The group eventually developed the original prototype for Million Dollar Teacher Tree—a cutout dollar sign that would be placed in surrounding businesses near the partner school. The idea was pitched to staff members of MDTP during the last of their class, and the project was picked up by MDTP as a new pilot program for the organization. After many months of planning, the prototype was eventually revamped into what it is today, Million Dollar Teacher Tree.
These apples are intended to provide any sort of Professional Development which, in turn, gifts them with key knowledge to add to their personal skill-set to better work with their students.
As educators, teachers are constantly looking to continually grow in their profession to not only learn how to better connect with their students, but to also make the learning experience much more exciting.
Suggested donation amount range: $10 – $100
These apples are designed to provide the typical day-to-day items in the classroom. Teachers spend can spend upwards of $1,000 out of pocket to have enough supplies yearlong for their students– to alleviate this, the Red Apples were created.
Everyday school supplies include; pencils, notebooks, crayons, hand sanitizer, etc.
These apples are intended to provide a big-ticket item for the teachers. These supplies are typically something that the teachers can use for more than one school year.
Examples include; a class-set of computers or new furniture for the classroom.
Suggested donation amount: $500+
