WAYZATA, Minn. - Getting named one of the nation's top teachers is a pretty good way to start a week.
Having someone hand you a a $25,000 check isn't half-bad either.
Seth Brown, a math teacher at Wayzata West Middle School is this year's Minnesota winner of the Milken Educator Award. He received the honor during a surprise ceremony early Monday morning.
The no-strings-attached award comes from the Milken Family Foundation of Santa Monica, Calif. The prizes are sometimes called the "Oscars of teaching" and are given to dozens of teachers around the country annually.
Brown is known for the creative use of technology in his classroom. He says he'll use the $25,000 to help pay for graduate school and will make a donation to the middle school PTA, which helped buy technology for his class.
The Milken Educator Award winners are nominated without their knowledge by a special panel appointed by each state's education department.
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