Northern Kentucky teacher Jenna Stewart was among the 2024 class of Milken Educator Award recipients who traveled to Los Angeles to attend the national Milken Educator Awards Forum held at UCLA earlier this month.
Stewart teaches fifth grade at Union’s Longbranch Elementary School and was surprised with the Milken Award selection in December.
Meeting one another for the first time, the 2024 class gathered with their loved ones to walk the red carpet – a celebration fitting for their continued excellence and leadership inside and outside of the classroom.
Milken Educator Awards Founder Lowell Milken hosted the 2024 Awardees, officially recognizing Kentucky award recipient Stewart, a fifth grade teacher at Longbranch Elementary in Union, with her unrestricted $25,000 cash prize.
The all-expenses-paid trip to L.A. and $25,000 cash prize were part of each educator’s award, which also provides lifetime membership to the national Milken Educator Network, powerful mentorship and professional development opportunities, and access to a brain trust of over 3,000 Milken Educators working to shape the future of K-12 education.
“We honor the achievements of 2024’s Milken Educators, who dedicate their lives to providing students with the high-quality education they need and deserve,” said Lowell Milken. “We shine a spotlight on these extraordinary change agents so that when they return to their communities, they will know that their impact is not only noticed but also treasured. We hope they will continue to inspire other talented young people to join the adventure of teaching and serve as a beacon of excellence for future generations.”
At this year’s forum, appropriately themed “3,000 Strong and Making an Impact,” veteran and new Milken Educators gathered at UCLA to share ideas for amplifying their voice in their professional careers. With the Awards’ mission to “Celebrate, Elevate, and Activate” the teaching profession, recipients learned about the powerful opportunities the Milken Educator Network affords to expand their leadership in practice and policy.
Additionally, the forum celebrated a significant milestone for the Milken Family Foundation: reaching the 3,000th Milken Educator Award recipient since the Awards’ inception nearly four decades ago. The 2024-25 season concluded with the induction of 42 new Milken Educators, with more than $75 million in individual financial prizes and more than $145 million invested in the Milken Educator Award national network overall.
Milken Family Foundation
See the NKyTribune’s story here about Jenna Stewart’s award