“Working across the educational spectrum from gifted students to the disabled, she (Meghan LeFevers) strives to maximize the potential of each and every student, especially those from underserved communities. Always pursuing lofty goals, she epitomizes the practical yet uplifting spirit of the Milken Educator Awards.”

Milken Educator Awards Senior Vice President Dr. Jane Foley

BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University alumna Meghan LeFevers ’07, assistant principal at Bessemer City High School (BCHS), is among 44 honorees to receive a Milken Educator Award for 2017-18. She is the only Milken Educator Award winner from North Carolina this year.

North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction Mark Johnson and Milken Educator Awards Senior Vice President Dr. Jane Foley presented LeFevers with the award on Dec. 18, 2017, at an assembly in the Bessemer City High School gymnasium.

Milken Educators are selected in early to mid-career for what they have achieved and for the promise of what they will accomplish. With the award, LeFevers receives national recognition as well as an unrestricted $25,000 cash prize. Additionally, the honor includes membership in the National Milken Educator Network, a group of more than 2,700 top teachers, principals and specialists dedicated to strengthening education.

In addition to participation in the Milken Educator Network, 2017-18 recipients will attend a Milken Educator Forum in Washington, D.C., March 20-23, 2018. Educators will have the opportunity to network with their new colleagues and hear from state and federal officials about maximizing their leadership roles to advance educator effectiveness.

LeFevers hails from a family of educators — her mother retired from Gaston County Schools after more than three decades in education — and holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Appalachian and a master’s in school administration from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

LeFevers taught math to at-risk middle school students before moving into administration. When she arrived at BCHS, a high-poverty school about 25 miles west of Charlotte, only 5 percent of Math I students reached proficiency on year-end assessments. LeFevers stepped into the math department’s professional learning community, meeting weekly with teachers to coach them on pacing and instruction. By the end of the 2016-17 school year, the Math I proficiency rate at BCHS had risen to 32 percent.

Described by her peers as a “data-driven humanitarian,” she has worked with autistic students, the hard of hearing and the gifted, and has shown a knack for raising test scores, rousing colleagues and rejuvenating remedial education. LeFevers says she strives to make sure all students are included in educational opportunities, regardless of their special needs or disabilities.

About the Milken Educator Award

The very first Milken Educator awards were presented by the Milken Family Foundation 30 years ago in 1987. The awards provide public recognition and individual financial rewards of $25,000 to elementary and secondary school 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.

About the Reich College of Education

Appalachian State University offers one of the largest undergraduate teacher preparation programs in North Carolina, graduating about 500 teachers a year. The Reich College of Education enrolls more than 2,000 students in its bachelor’s, master’s, education specialist and doctoral degree programs, with offerings that span multiple fields — from teacher preparation, counseling, and therapy, to higher education, school and student affairs administration, library science, educational leadership and more. With over 10,000 alumni employed in North Carolina public schools, there is at least one Reich College graduate in every county in the state. Learn more at https://rcoe.appstate.edu.

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, cost-effective education. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.

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