Alabama Milken Educator

Each year the Milken Family Foundation honors exemplary K-12 educators by surprising teachers, principals, and specialists with an unrestricted $25,000 financial award, along with wonderful professional development opportunities.

In 1998, this award was presented to six Alabama educators and as of 2019, a total of 36 Alabama educators have received the “Oscars of Teaching” and a total of $900,000.

The Milken Educator Awards recognize teacher-leaders who are in the early to middle part of their careers and are both innovative and effective educators. This is done through a rigorous and confidential process.

Teachers cannot apply for the award but are recommended without their knowledge to the Milken Family Foundation by an independent blue-ribbon panel appointed by each state’s department of education. The award alternates yearly between elementary and secondary educators. By recognizing these outstanding educators with $25,000, the Foundation hopes to raise public awareness that high-quality teachers are essential to student achievement.

Lowell Milken first developed the Milken Educator Awards in 1985 to recognize the importance of having outstanding educators. He wanted to encourage talented young people to consider teaching as a profession. The award was first presented to 12 outstanding recipients in California in 1987.

Determined to expand the award’s focus beyond recognizing excellence among the few, Lowell Milken was further inspired to create this cutting-edge method to attract, develop, retain, and motivate the best talent to the teaching profession.

Additional Information

Milken Family Foundation. Learn more about the Foundation that sponsors the Milken Family Foundation Educator Awards.

Milken Educator Awards. View photos and videos and learn more information about the latest Milken Educator Award recipients.

Alabama Milken Educator Award Recipients. A listing of Alabama educators who have received the Milken Family Foundation Educator Award since 1998.