TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | APRIL 15-21, 2022 4
BY ETHAN MARSHALL
Former Astoria resident Sarah
Mae Lagasca was surprised with
a $25,000 check and the Milken
Educator Award for her outstanding
work as a music teacher at
Arts High School in Newark, New
Jersey, during an assembly on
April 1.
Lagasca was honored with the
award for connecting her students
to the world of professional music
through a variety of opportunities.
These included performing
at Lincoln Center and the Newark
Museum of Art, using state-of-theart
technology in her classroom
and introducing her students to
professional musicians to help inspire
a career in the arts.
Lagasca’s genuine reaction to
learning she received the Milken
award was caught on video and
quickly made the rounds online. It
even drew national attention from
“Good Morning America,” ABC
News and Yahoo! News, among
others.
Milken Educator Awards Senior
Vice President Dr. Jane Foley
and New Jersey Acting Commissioner
of Education Dr. Angelica
Allen-McMillan presented the
award to Lagasca in front of a
crowd of students, colleagues,
state and local officials and the
media. Lagasca became one of
just over 60 educators across the
United States to receive the award
for the 2021-22 school year and one
of just two in New Jersey.
According to Foley, Lagasca’s
experience as an accomplished
singer has helped in her teachings.
“She has used her professional
network in the arts to introduce
her students to a variety of professional
musicians, further inspiring
and motivating them to
pursue their own careers in the
arts,” Foley said. “Lagasca is an
exceptional example of excellence
in arts education, and I am proud
to welcome her into the national
Milken Educator Network.”
Allen-McMillan complemented
Lagasca’s devotion to her students.
“Lagasca is as committed to
her students as she is to her vocation,
which is evident in her classroom,”
Allen-McMillan said. “She
is a trailblazer who emotes in a
variety of ways that translates
her passion and energy to her students,
her colleagues and the entire
community she influences.”
According to Lagasca, she was
“definitely surprised” to receive
the Milken Award. She said that
10 minutes before receiving the
award, she had actually left the
assembly to record the school’s
choir at the auditorium before being
dragged back.
Lagasca has been teaching for
nine years. She shifted from the
classroom to the music room in
2018. Lagasca said she had long
wanted to be a teacher and that
Sarah Mae Lagasca, a music teacher at Arts High School in Newark, New
Jersey, was named a Milken award-winner during an assembly.
her choir conductor at LaGuardia
High School inspired her to teach
music.
Under Lagasca’s leadership,
AHS’s vocal arts program has
seen increased proficiency in
music theory, composition, sight
reading, vocal technique, music
history, recording and production
technology, marketing and branding
Photo via milkeneducatorawards.org
and personal artistic growth.
When social justice protests occurred
across the country, Lagasca,
alongside other professionals
in the music industry, assembled
over 160 singers and instrumentalists
from schools across the
country for a virtual performance
of “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
Read more on QNS.com.
Queens resident surprised with
prestigious teaching award
As we approach
signifi cant holy
days, I Wish you
a Joyous, Blessed
Easter and a
Happy Passover.
Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr.
New York State Senator
District 15
District Offi ces:
159-53 102nd Street
Howard Beach, NY 11414
(718) 738-1111
(718) 322-5760 FAX
66-85 73rd Place
Middle Village, NY 11379
(718) 497-1630
(718) 497-1761 FAX
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/milkeneducatorawards.org
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