Milken Family Foundation representative Stephanie Bishop, Milken Educator Brian Allman, Nitro High School Principal Brian Barth, Milken Educator Adam Wolfe, Milken Educator Erika Klose, State Superintendent Michele L. Blatt and Kanawha County Superintendent Tom Williams pose for a photo during Mr. Wolfe’s Milken Award presentation.

Nitro, W.Va. — West Virginia Superintendent of Schools Michele L. Blatt joined Kanawha County Schools officials and elected leaders during a ceremony to name West Virginia’s latest Milken Educator. Nitro High School’s engineer-turned-educator, Adam Wolfe, was awarded the national Milken Educator Award (MEA) by the Milken Family Foundation (MFF) today. MEA Vice President Stephanie Bishop traveled to the school to make the surprise announcement during a school assembly.

Wolfe, who teaches upper-level geometry and pre-engineering classes at Nitro High School, is a former engineer who pursued teaching as a second career. He enables students to apply what they have learned in the classroom through networking and community projects. This provides them with practical and real-world applications and allows their work to have both academic and community benefits.

His class has designed a crosswalk with lights for a local elementary school, partnered with West Virginia State Parks to design and sell Christmas ornaments and helped to rebuild the local community swim team’s record board.

Wolfe participated in an alternative certification program hosted by the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) as he embarked on his new career. It provided him with mentors and important supports as he transitioned from engineering to education.

“Mr. Wolfe’s impact on his students and his community will resonate for years to come,” said Superintendent Blatt. “He nurtures a love of learning while also increasing student knowledge through his unique approach to teaching. What is equally impressive is that he transitioned from the engineering field and chose teaching as a second career. We are grateful to him for his commitment to our students, and we are thankful for the Milken Family Foundation for continuing to elevate educators and our profession.”

“In the world we live in, we have to find ways to get students engaged in the material,” Wolfe said. “Having young kids myself, I know how curious they are. We lose some of that by the time they get to high school, but doing projects gives them space to figure things out.”

As a part of the award, Wolfe receives an unrestricted, individual $25,000 cash prize for his dedicated work inside and outside of the classroom.

Wolfe earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in 2010, a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from Vanderbilt University in 2012 and a Master of Arts in Educational Leadership from Salem University in 2024.

The Milken Educator Award, one of the nation’s highest achievements in education, is presented by the Milken Family Foundation and is hailed as the “Oscars of Teaching,” because it inspires and uplifts the teaching profession with the unique stories of educators making a profound difference for students, colleagues and communities.

The MFF will recognize up to 45 educators across the country during the 2024-25 awards season. Wolfe joins a national network of over 3,000 Milken Educators spanning the Awards’ nearly 40-year history.

The Milken Educator Award Reaps Lifelong Benefits

  • The $25,000 cash award is unrestricted. Recipients have used the money in diverse ways. 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.
  • Honorees receive powerful mentorship opportunities for expanded leadership roles that strengthen education practice and policy. Milken Friends Forever pairs a new recipient with a veteran Milken Educator mentor.
  • The honorees attend an all-expenses-paid Milken Educator Awards Forum in Los Angeles in April 2025, where 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.
  • Veteran Milken Educators demonstrate a wide range of leadership roles at state, national and international levels.

Bio, Photos and Video: https://www.milkeneducatorawards.org/educators/view/adam-wolfe

For media inquiries, contact Christy Day, West Virginia Department of Education Office of Communications, at 304-558-2699 or Christy.Day@k12.wv.us.

Follow the Milken Educator Awards tour and use the #MEA3K and #MilkenAward hashtags on: Facebook (MilkenEducatorwards)| X (Milken)| YouTube (MilkenAward)| Instagram (MilkenFamilyFdn)| LinkedIn (MilkenFamilyFdn).

Visit MilkenEducatorAwards.org or call the Milken Family Foundation at (310) 570-4772 for more information.

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