Briana Temple, an instructional coach at George Washington High School, was recently honored with a Dedicated Educator Excellence Award by the Indiana Department of Education.
Temple was among the 16 outstanding educators honored on Sept. 8 at the second annual Indiana Educational Excellence Awards Gala brought together educators, administrators, and supporters from across the state in a glamorous black-tie event.
Hosted in Indianapolis, this prestigious gala served as a platform to celebrate the remarkable achievements of Indiana’s dedicated educators while also recognizing schools that are excelling in key areas of education.
The event recognized the 2023 Indiana Teacher of the Year, Indiana’s 2022 Milken Educator Award recipients and other dedicated educators from across the state. This event also recognized schools that are excelling in key areas such as literacy (science of reading), STEM and rethinking high school.
Temple’s exceptional dedication to her students and her profession earned her a $2,500 award. The accolade recognized her commitment to professional growth, innovative use of technology in the classroom, and her ability to build vital community partnerships.
“I do this work for students that look like me and for those students who just want a quality education and a chance to succeed in life,” Temple said. “For anyone that doesn’t like the spotlight—like myself—and are just passionate in ensuring our students receive academic excellence, I hope this inspires you to keep going and keep making a difference because every single IPS employee matters and the hard work that you do for our students’ matter.”
Temple began her teaching career with IPS in 2015, teaching social studies for three years at Arsenal Technical High School. She returned to IPS in 2022-2023 school year and is now in my second year as an Instructional Coach at George Washington High School.
Temple graduated from Indiana University-Bloomington, earning bachelor’s degrees in police science and criminal justice. She also received a master’s degree in public administration from Indiana Wesleyan University and a master’s degree in educational leadership from IUPUI.