Across the nation, there are more and more local news deserts; communities with no local newspaper, television or radio station to cover what’s going on. When a small town paper like The Welch News in McDowell County, WV, can’t compete and shuts down, losing those local eyes and ears can affect accountability because no one is there to watch over things. When local news sources vanish, a community can also lose its sense of cohesion and identity. This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center. This story was also honored with a regional Edward R. Murrow Award for Best News Documentary and by the Virginias Associated Press Broadcasters for Best Documentary.
Nitro High School Teacher Awarded $25,000 For Excellence In Education
Stephanie Bishop, vice president of the Milken Educator Awards, congratulates a surprised Adam Wolfe.Milken Family Foundation
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Nitro High School’s engineer-turned-educator, Adam Wolfe, had the surprise of a lifetime Tuesday morning at a seemingly routine assembly.
Wolfe, a math and engineering teacher, was as shocked as his students when Milken Educator Awards Vice President Stephanie Bishop declared him the winner.
“Adam Wolfe really stands out as being an innovator,” Bishop said. “He is all about hands-on learning in his engineering and math classes. And because of his dedication to this community and being a problem solver, we sought him out as the Milken Educator for 2024.”
There is no application process for this award. Each year, the foundation selects teachers from across the U.S. to recognize excellence in teaching with an unrestricted $25,000 cash prize.
The winner is left a complete surprise to everyone except the state’s Department of Education — and perhaps the school’s principal and some administrators.
Wolfe is West Virginia’s only 2024 to 2025 Milken Educator Award recipient, but the state’s 80th teacher named a Milken Educator since the program began in 1987.
From left: Milken Educator Awards Vice President Stephanie E. Bishop, Brian Allman, Brian Barth, Adam Wolfe, Dr. Erika Klose, Michele Blatt and Tom Williams.
Milken Family Foundation
Wolfe stood out to the Milken Foundation because he uses his experience as a former engineer to support students and connect them to community projects and internship opportunities.
“We are working with the state Department of Education here in West Virginia to find the best of the best,” Bishop said. “We are looking for the top 1 percent of educators to be Milken Educators in this state.”
Wolfe said he felt shock, gratitude, humility and some guilt because he thinks many other excellent teachers at Nitro High School deserve the recognition.
“It’s awesome to be recognized for this, and I hope I do make an impact on my kids’ lives, but I know I’m certainly not the only person in the building who does that,” Wolfe said. “I don’t pretend to know what’s best for those kids. But, as I said earlier, I hope to give them the space for them to figure that out.”
In addition to recognition and the cash prize, Wolfe won an all-expense paid trip to an education forum in Los Angeles, Ca. in April 2025.
Back in the classroom, math and engineering teacher Adam Wolfe teaches his ninth-grade students a lesson.
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