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2024-25 Milken Educator Awards Tour to Surprise America's Unsung Heroes with $25,000 Prizes and Extend a Force Advancing K-12 Education

Founded by philanthropist and education visionary Lowell Milken, the Awards will welcome the 3,000^th recipient to the national network this season

October 21, 2024

SANTA MONICA, Calif.  — The 2024-25 Milken Educator Awards Tour will begin this week, crisscrossing the country to surprise outstanding teachers, principals and specialists with $25,000 cash prizes at exciting, emotional all-school assemblies. Created nearly four decades ago by philanthropist and education visionary Lowell Milken, the Awards shine a spotlight on the very people who prepare generations of students for bright futures. With every assembly, one unsung hero will become a household name and join a national network working to shape the future of education. 

Up to 45 pioneering professionals will be honored this 2024-25 season, marking the 3,000^th Milken Educator in the Awards’ ranks and celebrating a history of changing lives in communities across America. 

"For our students to compete successfully in today's global economy, our nation must focus greater attention on celebrating, honoring and recognizing the important work talented teachers and school leaders do," said Milken Educator Awards Founder Lowell Milken. "Each Milken Educator Award announcement unlocks an ever-expanding scope of contributions a new recipient will bring to the vitality of the profession and the future of K-12 education. Truly, the future belongs to the educated!" 

The Milken Educator Awards are hailed as the "Oscars of Teaching." This season will reach more than $75 million in individual cash prizes since the Awards' inception in 1987 and over $145 million invested in the Milken Educator Award national network overall, empowering recipients to "Celebrate, Elevate, and Activate" the K-12 profession and encouraging young, capable people to consider a career in education. 

The Milken Educator Award is not a lifetime achievement honor. Recipients are sought out while early to mid-career for what they have achieved – and for the promise of what they will accomplish given the resources and opportunities afforded by the Award. 

The Milken Educator Award Reaps Lifelong Benefits

• The $25,000 cash Award is unrestricted. Recipients have used the money in diverse ways. Some recipients have spent the funds on their children's or their own continuing education, financing dream field trips, establishing scholarships, and even adopting children.
• Honorees receive powerful mentorship opportunities for expanded leadership roles that strengthen education practice and policy. Milken Friends Forever (MFF) pairs a new recipient with a veteran Milken Educator mentor; the Expanding MFF Resource and Explorer Program fosters individual veteran Milken Educator partnerships around specific topic areas; and Activating Milken Educators promotes group collaboration in and across states to bring solutions to pressing educational needs.
• The honorees attend an all-expenses-paid Milken Educator Awards Forum in Los Angeles in April 2025, where they will network with their new colleagues as well as veteran Milken Educators and other education leaders about how to broaden their impact on K-12 education.
• Veteran Milken Educators demonstrate a wide range of leadership roles at state, national and international levels. 

The Milken Educator Award might come to a community near you! Who will be next? Join us as we surprise these remarkable individuals and celebrate their dedication to excellence in education! Follow the tour and use the #MEA3K and #MilkenAward hashtags on: Facebook (MilkenEducatorAwards)| X (Milken)| YouTube (MilkenAward)| Instagram (MilkenFamilyFdn)| LinkedIn (MilkenFamilyFdn)| TikTok (MilkenAward). 

Visit MilkenEducatorAwards.org or call the Milken Family Foundation at (310) 570-4772 for more information.

About the Milken Educator Awards: "The Future Belongs to the Educated"
The first Milken Educator Awards were presented by the Milken Family Foundation in 1987. Created by philanthropist and education visionary Lowell Milken, the Awards provide public recognition and individual financial rewards of $25,000 to K-12 teachers, principals, and specialists from around the country who are furthering excellence in education. Recipients are heralded in early to mid-career for what they have achieved and for the promise of what they will accomplish. The Milken Family Foundation celebrates more than 40 years of elevating education in America and around the world. Learn more at MFF.org.

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