About the Milken Educator Awards

The Milken Educator Awards: For the Future

Film has the Oscar™, music has the Grammy™, science has the Nobel and sports has its gold medals, but where is the recognition for our nation’s educators? Enter Lowell Milken and the Milken Educator Awards.

The Milken Educator Awards, created by Lowell Milken in 1987, have rewarded and inspired excellence in the world of education by honoring top educators around the country with $25,000 unrestricted awards. Not an accolade for “lifetime achievement” or the proverbial gold watch at the exit door, the Milken Educator Awards targets early-to-mid career education professionals for their already impressive achievements and, more significantly, for the promise of what they will accomplish in the future.

Recipients are caught by surprise when their names are announced at emotional all-school assemblies in front of cheering students, proud colleagues, distinguished officials and the media. There’s a reason why many call it the “Oscars of Teaching”—new Milken Educators have even been asked for autographs by admiring students! And while the celebrity treatment is well-deserved, the Awards aren’t about the glitz and glamour. They’re about bringing attention to these classroom heroes; serving at once as validation, motivation and inspiration to current and future quality educators. The message: We recognize you. We value you. We thank you.

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