$25,000 Award Shows Dedicated Santa Ana Teacher Is a Class Act

When Santa Ana teacher Davide Busetti led his second-grade class to the school’s auditorium Tuesday morning, he thought it was just another school assembly. Think again, Mr. Busetti.

In a surprise ceremony attended by state Supt. of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell and several elected officials, Busetti, 37, was awarded a $25,000 prize by the Milken Family Foundation for his classroom accomplishments.

With hundreds of students sitting on the floor and their teachers along the walls, foundation chairman Lowell Milken playfully revealed clues as to why he had come to Wallace R. Davis Elementary School.

When Milken finally announced his name, Busetti looked around for a moment in confusion before rubbing his forehead in disbelief.

For 18 years, the Milken foundation has given 100 such awards each year to teachers across the country. Winners are chosen in secret by judges appointed by each state’s department of education. Busetti said he would use the money to pursue a graduate degree in education.

Busetti, from Venice, Italy, once planned to be a lawyer. But instead he moved to Santa Ana with his American wife and visited Davis Elementary, where she taught. After a stint as a teaching assistant, he knew he’d found his calling. “I realized I wanted to teach,” Busetti said. “I wanted to be in charge of a classroom.”

The Milken Foundation recognized several of Busetti’s accomplishments in his seven years as a teacher, including his implementation of programs that focus on improving language skills and increasing parents’ involvement.

By awarding more than $50 million to teachers over the history of the prize, Milken said, the foundation hoped to focus attention on teaching and attract better candidates to teach.

“We are not drawing our most talented into the profession,” he said. “These awards are meant to communicate a message. And unless you do it with money, people don’t pay attention.”