photo by: Photo by Derek Redd

Madison Elementary School Principal Andrea Trio offers her gratitude after winning a $25,000 Milken Educator Award. Behind her is Ohio County School Superintendent Kim Miller.

WHEELING – In a room full of students, friends and peers, none was as surprised to hear that principal Andrea Trio had been selected to receive the Milken Educator Award as Trio herself.

The award, along with its $25,000 cash prize, was given to Trio in an assembly Thursday morning. There, Stephanie Bishop, vice-president of the Milken Educator Awards for the Milken Family Foundation, enlisted the help of several students in announcing the prize before naming Trio as the recipient, catching her off guard to the cheers of her students and co-workers.

Trio was overwhelmed and emotional following the presentation, saying that she was both ecstatic to have won, but humbled that her work with students received recognition.

“I’m ecstatic, I’m shocked, I’m very taken aback, I’m emotional, and I’m honored,” she said. “I’m humbled that others would see the goodness within me that I strive to do each and every day to serve children. To not only find me, but to believe that I’m so deserving of this award, I’m very thankful.

“… I stand up there and I take on this award for our school, and for educators all around, not only in Ohio County Schools, but across the nation. It is a profession that truly shapes the lives of everyone. We can all think back, even as adults, how one educator has brought forth so much and made us the person we are today. That’s what I strive for each and every day – to do what’s best for children.”

Trio said she would need to take time to decide what the next steps were for her, including what she thought she might spend the money on.

“I do need to take some time to reflect on those steps, but certainly, I’m thinking how I can continue to serve the children and to do what’s best for them,” Trio said. “That was one of the promises that I gave to the staff here at Madison Elementary School when I started seven years ago.”

photo by: Photo by Derek Redd

The Madison Elementary School chorus sings “Take Me Home, Country Roads” at an assembly where, afterward, Madison Principal Andrea Trio would be surprised with a $25,000 Milken Educator Award.

A West Virginia University graduate, Trio spent 10 years teaching in Maryland before receiving her master’s degree in 2014 from Hood College. She returned to West Virginia, where she taught for eight years, seven of which were in Ohio County.

Ohio County Superintendent Kim Miller, who had herself received the Milken Educator Award in 2002, was beyond proud that another Ohio County educator had been recognized.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the work that Andrea does every single day for her students and her staff,” Miller said. “She’s smart, she has a heart of gold, she is the ideal representative to represent the state of West Virginia.”

Bishop said the award is not granted through nominations, but that educators who are recognized are hand-selected internally.

“We truly seek the top 1% of educators in our country, and we really feel like Mrs. Trio exemplifies the top 1%,” she said. “We work with the state department, where they help us with that selection process, with educators who are doing great things in our states, and then we take a look at those educators and do some deeper research until we find the top 1%.

“I really feel like Mrs. Trio exemplifies everything this award is about. She’s an exemplary educator who is truly living her purpose, living her ‘why,’ not just in the school within these four walls, but within the community of Ohio County.”