Milken Educator Award Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Helping First Responders In Times Of Personal Crisis On This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, Randy Yohe speaks with Dylan Oliveto, the founder of SCARS Support Services. SCARS stands for “shared compassion and resource services” – an organization to help first responders in times of personal crisis.

On this West Virginia Morning, faced with mounting suicides and PTSD rates, West Virginia first responders struggling with job-related mental health issues are taking matters into their own hands.

Randy Yohe speaks with Dylan Oliveto, the founder of SCARS Support Services. SCARS stands for “shared compassion and resource services” – an organization to help first responders in times of personal crisis.

Also, in this show, a Nitro elementary school teacher received a $25,000 Milken Educator Award. Emily Rice has more.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University.

Eric Douglas produced this episode.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

Nitro Teacher Wins $25,000 Education Award

On Wednesday morning, a Nitro elementary school teacher received a $25,000 Milken Educator Award.

In the surprise of a lifetime, Janna Hamrick, a fifth grade teacher at Rock Branch Elementary School in Nitro, West Virginia received a Milken Educator Award, often called the “Oscar of Teaching.”

Hamrick was completely unaware of her candidacy for the award of $25,000. Cheers erupted from the students and faculty filling the cafeteria as Hamrick’s name was announced by Gov. Jim Justice.

“The Milken Family makes this really a big secret, and you know the teachers can’t apply,” Justice said. “Absolutely, it is a gigantic secret. So, probably here right at this moment somewhere, where is Janna Hamrick?”

Hamrick has been teaching in Putnam County for 12 years. Hamrick earned a Bachelor of Arts in elementary education, K-6, in 2008, and a Master of Arts in secondary math education, grades 5-9, through Algebra 1 in 2011, both from Marshall University.

She said she puts her heart and soul into teaching.

“Every single day, I come in here because I love the kids and I invest in them daily, because of that passion,” Hamrick said. “I think if I have that passion, and I treat them like that, they give me the same respect and love in return, and so they are willing to do anything. And so when I set the bar high, they go higher.”

Milken Educator Awards Vice President Stephanie Bishop said that passion is what made Hamrick stand out to the organization.

“Miss Hamrick really stood out as being in the top one percent of educators in this nation, because of what she’s doing in the classroom, to innovate, and how she is really in tune with reaching the whole child and has connected the students in her class to the school community, but then also the community at large,” Bishop said.

According to the 2022/23 West Virginia General Summative Assessment, Rock Branch’s fifth grade mathematics proficiency is not only among the highest in Putnam County but also in the state.

Hamrick is the second and final West Virginia Milken Educator recipient this season, concluding the Milken Family Foundation’s 2023/24 West Virginia tour. She joins Ashley Wilkins-Franks who received her award on Oct. 31 in Petersburg, West Virginia.

“Janna Hamrick epitomizes the important role educators play today,” said State Superintendent of Schools Michele Blatt. “Her enthusiasm for learning is infectious and the relationships she builds with her students establish connections that strengthen their learning. She creates a safe learning environment and allows them to take risks and become more self-reliant. We are proud she has earned this stellar award.”

The honorees will attend an all-expenses-paid Milken Educator Award Forum in Los Angeles, California where they will network with their new colleagues as well as veteran Milken educators.

The $25,000 cash award is unrestricted. According to the Milken Family Foundation, 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.

When asked what she will do with the financial reward, Hamrick said she has not decided what to do with the total sum but plans to give her daughter a wonderful Christmas this year.

Grant County Teacher Receives Milken Educator Award

Cheers rang through the Petersburg High School gym Tuesday morning. Students, educators, and state and national dignitaries gathered to celebrate English language arts teacher Ashley Wilkins-Franks as one of 75 Milken Award winners around the country.

Cheers rang through the Petersburg High School gym Tuesday morning as students, educators, and state and national dignitaries gathered to celebrate English language arts teacher Ashley Wilkins-Franks. She just found out she was one of 75 Milken Award winners around the country.

Called the “Oscars of Teaching,” the Milken Family Foundation honors top educators annually. The awards provide public recognition and individual financial rewards of $25,000 to elementary and secondary school 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.

Wilkins-Franks said her dedication to getting students engaged, using proven classroom and instructional strategies, means teaching kids from all walks of life, with different backgrounds and ethnicities.

“Becoming engaged with all of those students, no matter what their ability level, or language proficiency, or any of those things is very paramount into their success,” she said. “My students know when they walk in my room that we are going to work from the time the bell rings to start class until the time the bell rings to stop class. And I do have very high expectations for them.”

Wilkins-Franks facilitates Socratic Seminars, where students engage in respectful, high-level discussions on their varying interpretations of classic literature. Using Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart,” Wilkins-Franks guides students through character trials, during which they act as prosecutors and debate whether the main character of the story is guilty, building their presentation skills and curriculum competency.

Wilkins-Franks said all educators must realize people never stop learning or adapting to the future.

“Especially after COVID-19,” she said. “That changed the entire landscape of what education looks like in public education and private education as well. And so now we’re pivoting again, to fill those gaps that students don’t have coming out of and also trying to make sure that we are preparing them for real life and college and trade schools and the workforce.”

Asked about her $25,000 prize, Wilkins-Franks said she has no idea yet what she will do with the money.

“This has all been a whirlwind,” she said. “I still feel like I’m going to wake up from a dream in 10 minutes, and this has been a figment of my imagination.”

It’s no dream. Wilkins-Franks and all 2023 Milken honorees will attend an all-expenses paid Milken Educator Awards Forum in Los Angeles in June 2024. There 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.

Wheeling Island Principal Receives $25,000 Milken Award

An educator in the Northern Panhandle has received a national award.

Andrea Trio is the third Milken Educator Award recipient in the state this year.

Trio was recognized Thursday morning in a surprise ceremony at Madison Elementary School on Wheeling Island, where she is the principal.

Nationally, more than 60 awards will be distributed by the Milken Family Foundation this year, each including $25,000.

Trio said she is honored by the award, but hasn’t considered what to do with the money yet.

“I think automatically, children, that’s where my heart goes to,” she said. “I’ll certainly do a lot of reflection on that, and think about how I can just continue to make myself be the best that I can be in serving students each and every day.”

Trio thanked the staff of Madison Elementary, as well as her students, for helping her to achieve work worthy of the award.

“I have to thank you for believing in Mrs. Trio, because you are the reason that I do what I do each and every day,” she said. “When I promise to do my best as the principal of Madison Elementary School, I meant that with my whole heart, and I won’t stop.”

In attendance for the event were several former West Virginia Milken Award winners, including 2002 recipient Ohio County superintendent Kim Miller and 1993 recipient state superintendent David Roach.

Miller said Trio is exactly who the state wants to be representing them, and this opportunity will only help her grow.

“This will allow Mrs. Trio the opportunity to network with an amazing group of educators that are forward thinking, that will provide opportunities that she’ll be able to attain and come back and continue to grow as an educator,” Miller said.

Roach said that even 30 years on, receiving the award continues to inspire him, and the Milken group of educators will help elevate Trio’s work.

“We’ll be utilizing her with our principals in West Virginia, because of her expertise,” Roach said. “There’s nothing, no barriers that will stop her from whatever she wants to do.”

Trio is the 76th West Virginian to receive the award since its creation in 1987.

Hardy County Teacher Receives National Honor, $25,000 Award

East Hardy High School English Teacher Michelle Wolfe was named the latest recipient of the Milken Educator Award award during a surprise presentation Wednesday morning, placing her among some of the country’s top grade school educators. The award is a national honor that recognizes some of the best teachers across the country.

The ceremony was the first stop of a tour where 60 notable teachers across the country will each receive $25,000.

Wolfe is the first Milken Award winner from Hardy County since 1994 and was chosen during a secret selection process. Her fellow teachers credited her for her leadership skills and focus on her students’ individuality.

“I am nationally board certified. That was a big accomplishment that I’d worked really hard for. And I thought maybe that was a big step for me. So this is something that I never dreamed up or envisioned,” Wolfe said.

Among those attending the event were former award winner and Milken Educator Awards Vice President Stephanie Bishop and State Superintendent of Schools W. Clayton Burch. Both noted the importance of the award for the state’s teachers, with Bishop saying the award has been a motivator for past recipients.

Wolfe says she wants to use the award to give back to her students and gain recognition for other public school teachers.

“I do really appreciate the opportunity to get to meet with other educators and to talk about how we can elevate the profession,” Wolfe said. “I really do believe in public schools, and so any opportunity to make things better for our students or our staff, I’m down for that.”

West Virginia Teacher Receives $25,000 Milken Award

A West Virginia middle school science teacher has been honored as one of the nation’s top educators.

Winfield Middle School teacher Erika Klose received a $25,000 Milken Educator Award from the Milken Family Foundation on Monday. The award was given to 45 teachers nationwide.

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

Klose incorporates technology and hands-on experiments into her teaching, and her mission is to get more students thinking about careers in science, technology, engineering and math.

Her students consistently win awards from various science fairs and last year they won $10,000 for classroom supplies.