main content Alum Awarded the ‘Oscar of Teaching’

In early February, in a middle school gym in Maine, a crowd of students, colleagues, dignitaries, and media witnessed the surprise of a lifetime for one extraordinary educator. What began as an assembly with Maine Department of Education officials quickly shifted gears once Milken Family Foundation Senior Program Director Greg Gallagher joined to reveal the secret reason for the school visit: “The Milken Educator Award goes to … Micah Depper!”

Depper gets a hand with his $25,000 check from his seventh grade class.
Credit: Milken Family Foundation Depper, who majored in biology at Lewis & Clark, is now a seventh-grade science teacher in Bath, a city of 8,800 in southeast Maine. In addition to receiving a $25,000 check, he joins over 3,000 Milken Educators spanning the awards’ nearly 40-year history as the nation’s preeminent teacher-recognition program. Hailed as the “Oscars of Teaching,” the Milken Educator Awards inspire educators, students, and entire communities to “Celebrate, Elevate and Activate” the K-12 teaching profession and encourage young, capable people to pursue teaching as a career.

From Science to Rock Music

Depper’s enthusiasm for teaching is contagious throughout the halls of Bath Middle School. It is evident in everything he does, from establishing a student union gathering space to forging student connections with a local youth center. Depper promotes learning through an inquiry-based, scientific lens. Using his L&C experiences in biology and environmental studies, he makes learning come to life in biological evolution, metabolism, contact forces, bacterial resistance, genetics, ecosystems, and invasive species units.

Outside of his science classroom, Depper offers electronic music production for students to explore their passion for music. A particular hit on campus was his BMS Rock Band, an 8-week music club that invited students with little to no musical experience to learn how to play an instrument and perform at school assemblies and the school play.

Depper’s influence extends beyond students to his peer educators and school community. As a former instructional coach at Bath Middle School, he supported fellow teachers, building strong relationships and collaborating with them on effective instructional strategies. He also helped implement a pilot under Maine’s Rethinking Responsive Education Ventures grant program, creating innovative solutions to increase a feeling of connectedness to school. For the district, Depper drew from his master’s degree in environmental studies to chair the climate resilience committee, where he is taking the lead in developing an eco-action plan that will advance energy efficiency for area schools during the coming years.

Video credit: Milken Family Foundation

The Award’s Lifelong Benefits

Depper’s $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. In addition, honorees receive powerful mentorship opportunities for expanded leadership roles that strengthen education practice and policy.

This year’s honorees will attend an all-expenses-paid Milken Educator Awards Forum in Los Angeles in April, 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.

About the Milken Educator Awards

The first Milken Educator Awards were presented by the Milken Family Foundation in 1987. Created by philanthropist and education visionary Lowell Milken, the awards provide public recognition and individual financial rewards of $25,000 to K-12 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. Learn more at MFF.org.

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