A Mililani Uka Elementary School teacher received a surprise honor and a check for $25,000.

Jana Fukada wasn’t told she was getting the Milken Educator Award at a school-wide assembly Monday morning.

The award comes with a $25,000 prize from the Milken Family Foundation. It recognizes exemplary teachers, principals and specialists.

Jane Foley, a senior vice president at the Milken Family Foundation, called the award "the Oscars of teaching."

She told students at the assembly, "One of the best in the country is here at your school," before announcing Fukada’s name, according to a Department of Education tweet from the assembly.

Fukada is a curriculum coach for kindergarten to second-grade students at Mililani Uka Elementary School.

As a kindergarten teacher, Fukada co-taught an inclusion class and developed plans and assessments for the Hawaii Common Core Standards learning goals.

Recent data from her class showed 70 percent of students were at or near grade level in English, 93 percent were proficient in math, 94 percent were proficient in science and 100 percent met social studies goals.

Fukada also created homework activities to help students and parents develop skills in reading and math.