West Virginia Milken Educators Forum

West Virginia

In 2020 the West Virginia Milken Educators came together with a goal of connecting educators statewide to shine a bright light on the profession we hold so dear: education. Our collaborative efforts resulted in the “West Virginia Milken Educators Forum,” an annual event with a dual purpose of celebrating our WV Milken Educators and addressing the growing teacher shortage in our state. We partnered with the West Virginia Department of Education’s “Grow Your Own” (GYO) program to celebrate and activate high school students who are completing a two-year accelerated program designed to equip and retain new high-quality West Virginia Educators. Our Forum began as a small event that allowed us to meet and mentor 20 GYO students in our first year, 50 in the second year and up to 650 students in the coming year.

The WV Milken Educators Forum is a two-day event focusing on celebrating and activating future educators. On Day 1 students are introduced to dynamic, inspiring speakers in our state; have the chance to speak on a panel about their experiences in the various levels of the Grow Your Own program; and be mentored by WV Milken Educators during roundtable discussions focusing on content-area expertise.

At the end of the first day, future educators leave with a “WV Future Educator” sticker and a book of inspirational letters called “Letters To A Future Educator” with advice and expertise for future teachers written by the WV Milken Educators. The evening of Day 1 is spent on fellowship and celebration among the WV MIlken Educators with a dinner honoring our newest WV Milken Educators.

Day 2 is jam-packed with networking events only for WV Milken Educators, presentation of the WV Milken Pin to the newest WV Milken Educators and initial planning for the event the following year. Both days are high energy and engaging and are designed to not only strengthen our state network, but also to expand our reach and continue to inspire the West Virginia Educators of tomorrow.