Associated Press Published

Mercer County Principal Receives Distinguished Milken Award

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  A principal in Mercer County has been honored as one of the nation’s top educators.

Princeton Primary School Principal Ernie Adkins received a $25,000 Milken Educator Award from the Milken Family Foundation on Thursday.

The West Virginia Department of Education says Adkins learned that he was a recipient of the award during a surprise school-wide assembly.

Adkins has served as the school’s principal since it opened three years ago. The Department of Education says 90 percent of the school’s students are reading at or above grade level by the end of kindergarten.

Teacher magazine calls the Milken Awards the “Oscars of teaching.”