Alexandria Teacher Wins Milken Educator Award, 'Oscar Of Teaching'

ALEXANDRIA, VA — When Alexandria City High School English teacher Eva Irwin attended a school-wide assembly Tuesday, she didn't know she would be named the first in the school district to earn the prestigious Milken Educator Award.

Irwin is one of up to 75 teachers winning the Milken Educator Award in the 2023-2024 school year. The award, described as the "Oscars of Teaching," was first created by philanthropist Lowell Milken's Milken Family Foundation in 1987 and has awarded nearly 2,985 since then.

"During her short time at Alexandria City High School, Eva Irwin’s dedication and leadership are commendable and making a positive impact on students, colleagues and the community," said Lowell Milken in a statement. "We are proud to welcome Eva to the Milken Educator Network and look forward to seeing her accomplish even greater things in the future to advance educators and students."

As a Milken Educator Award, Irwin will receive $25,000 and an all-expenses-paid trip to the Milken Educator Awards Forum in Los Angeles in June. Award winners also receive mentoring from a veteran Milken Educator and networking to boost her professional development. Veteran Milken Educators have gone on to leadership roles on the state, national and international levels.

Irwin said she has a goal of becoming a principal and will use the funds to pay for her master's degree in educational leadership and policy studies from Virginia Tech.

"Education is so important to me. This school is so important to me," said Irwin in remarks at the assembly. "I've only been here a year and a half, but I've been teaching for 10 years. I just want to say how humbled I am by this. I truly cannot believe this is happening, but I just want to thank all the amazing people in my department."

According to the Milken Family Foundation, the award recognizes teachers for their accomplishments in their early to mid-career. Irwin is credited with serving as filling many roles, including substitute assistant principal, grade 11 English team professional learning community lead, the English department’s Staff Advisory Council representative and Culture and Climate Committee member. She also chairs an advisory committee to oversee and improve the fourth period block for targeted, needs-based instruction and helps with after-school events and cafeteria duty.

In the classroom, Irwin has used platforms like Parent Square to provide translation services for parents who aren't proficient in English, as well as Pear Deck, a presentation tool for students to give feedback during lessons. Those resources and understanding of students' needs have helped her build trust with students.

As an assistant coach, she helped the varsity volleyball team win a state championship in 2022, and she is head coach for the junior varsity team.

"We are blessed with outstanding teachers in Virginia, and Eva Irwin at Alexandria City High School is one of the best in the nation," said Virginia's State Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Lisa Coons, who was at the assembly with Milken. "It is great to see her receive the recognition she deserves and that we could all celebrate her achievement. She is a great representative for Virginia teachers across the Commonwealth."

This school year, the Milken Family Foundation is working toward providing its 3,000th Milken Educator Award. That will reflect $75 million in prizes given since the award was created.