Milken_Educator_Awards
The Milken Educator Awards is an educator recognition program in the United States that provides unrestricted grants of $25,000 cash to teachers deemed successful, in surprise ceremonies. Created in 1985 by education reformer and philanthropist Lowell Milken[1][2] and first presented in 1987, this initiative of the Milken Family Foundation has presented awards to over 2,900 teachers across the United States, averaging around 30-40 teachers per year.[3] Teacher Magazine nicknamed the program the "Oscars of Teaching."[4] The award currently gives $25,000 in unrestricted funds to teachers who are early in their career, or mid-career, to reward them "for what they have achieved—and for the promise of what they will accomplish in the future."[5] Recipients are ambushed at school assemblies or other public events to be publicly celebrated with the surprise announcement of the awards.[6] For example, in January 2016, a Hawaii high school science teacher was "shocked" to receive the award, given at a school-wide assembly.[7]