South Dakota Music Teacher Receives Milken Educator Award

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When school kids excel it's greatly reflected in their teachers who should be given the highest praise. One such South Dakota educator was recognized this week for his excellence and innovation in education.

On Wednesday Todd County Middle School’s Albert “Bobber” Her Many Horses was awarded the national Milken Educator Award.

In a press release by News.SD, Her Many Horses is the only recipient from South Dakota this year which includes a $25,000 cash prize for him to use however he chooses.

Her Many Horses thought he was attending an assembly highlighting the state literacy initiative with a visit from South Dakota’s secretary of education. Instead, the music and Lakota language teacher received the surprise of a lifetime.

Milken Educator Awards Senior Vice President Dr. Jane Foley, joined by South Dakota Secretary of Education Dr. Joseph Graves, presented Her Many Horses with the Award in front of cheering students, colleagues, dignitaries, and media.

“Albert Her Many Horses shares a perspective and personal experience with the young hearts and minds he is molding within the very community that shaped him,” said Dr. Foley, who is a 1994 Milken Educator from Indiana. “Albert’s unique insight and deep understanding of the needs of his students, school and community make him an excellent leader and mentor. He has an unwavering enthusiasm for the arts, contributes to all facets of education at Todd County Middle School, and nurtures relationships with students and families that they will remember for years to come. We welcome Albert to our national Milken Educator Network and look forward to the positive contributions he will bring.”

Her Many Horses stands out as a leader in his community, both inside and outside of his classroom at Todd County Middle School (TCMS), where he teaches band, chorus, general music, and Lakota language classes. This hometown hero understands the challenges his students face to succeed because he faced them himself as a young man growing up in Mission.

Despite the many barriers in front of TCMS youth, Her Many Horses maintains high expectations for his fine arts students. He motivates them to strive for their personal best while instilling self-confidence and responsibility within themselves, and he understands that cultivating talent requires imparting dedication and accountability while fostering mutual respect. His students’ musical and scholastic achievements are a testament to Her Many Horses’ steady, positive presence in their lives, making his classes highly attended and immensely popular.

Hailed as the “Oscars of Teaching,” the Awards will honor up to 75 recipients across the country in 2023-24 as part of the Milken Family Foundation’s Journey to the 3,000th Milken Educator. 2023-24 will reach $75 million in individual financial prizes spanning the length of the initiative and more than $144 million invested in the Milken Educator Award national network overall, empowering recipients to “Celebrate, Elevate, and Activate” the K-12 profession and inspiring young, capable people to pursue teaching as a career.

Her Many Horses earned a Bachelor of Arts in music education from Augustana University in 2011.