You won't want to miss the NEA Foundation's next gala, so mark your calendars now.

The NEA Foundation 2012 Salute to Excellence in Education Gala

Under the statuesque columns of the National Building Museum in Washington, DC, student performers from Springfield, MA drummed, danced, sang, and played instruments in a celebration of the best in public education.

More than 800 national education leaders and supporters gathered on February 10, 2012 to honor 35 of the nation's top public educators, who received The California Casualty Awards for Teaching Excellence.

Five of these educators, who received the The Horace Mann Awards for Teaching Excellence, were featured in student-made videos that premiered that night.

Danielle Kovach, a special education teacher at Tulsa Trail Elementary School in Hopatcong, NJ, received The NEA Member Benefits Award for Teaching Excellence and $25,000, in the evening’s highly anticipated finale. Watch a video of Kovach's acceptance speech.

The NEA Foundation also presented Will Allen, urban gardening guru and CEO of Growing Power, Inc., with The Security Benefit Corporation Award for Outstanding Service to Public Education and the Ford Foundation with The NEA Foundation Award for Philanthropy in Public Education. Dominique Dawes, the three-time Olympic gymnast and motivational speaker, emceed the event.

Visit our photo gallery, to find photos from the gala for purchase.

Photo: (Left to right, top row) Dennis Van Roekel, NEA President; Elizabeth Oliver-Farrow, NEA Foundation Board Chair; Harriet Sanford, NEA Foundation President & CEO; Peter Heckman, President & CEO, The Horace Mann Companies; John Stocks, NEA Executive Director. (Left to right, bottom row, Horace Mann Award for Teaching Excellence recipients) Jonathan Gillentine, Lisa Esquibel,  Cara Haney, Danielle Kovach, and Jeff Peneston

About the Salute to Excellence in Education Gala

Known as the Academy Awards of public education, the NEA Foundation's Salute to Excellence in Education Gala is a national celebration of the men and women who work in America's public schools.  

Photos: (Left and above) Special thanks to our talented, student performers from Springfield (MA) Public Schools and the teachers who inspire them.