A surprise assembly at Central Falls High School turned into a history-making moment Wednesday when special education teacher Briana Jones was named the first nationwide recipient of the 2026-27 Milken Educator Award, walking away with an unrestricted $25,000 cash prize. Jones, who leads the school's transition program for students ages 18 to 22 with special needs, is the first educator in the district's history to win the honor.
Jones earned her bachelor's degree from Rhode Island College in 2013 and has spent 15 years building out Central Falls High School's transition program, according to the Milken Family Foundation. As Providence Business News reports, Jones teaches both the school's special education transition program and its career and technical education business entrepreneurship culinary program, receiving the award during the assembly held on the high school's campus.
The Milken Educator Award is often called the “Oscars of Teaching” across the education sector, a nickname that reflects the prestige attached to the honor, per the Michigan Department of Education. Established in 1987 by philanthropist Lowell Milken, the award comes with no restrictions on how recipients spend the money. Candidates cannot apply or be nominated by the public — instead, state-appointed review panels secretly identify early-to-mid career educators based on innovative instructional practices and long-range leadership potential, according to the Milken Family Foundation's selection criteria.
A Historic First for Central Falls
Jones is the first educator in Central Falls School District history to win a Milken Educator Award since Rhode Island began participating in the program in 1990, the foundation notes. She also represents the state's 86th recipient overall since 1990 and its sole honoree for the 2026-27 academic year. Last year, Portsmouth Middle School counselor Kyle Spaltholz was named Rhode Island's sole 2025-26 Milken winner during a similar surprise assembly in October 2025, according to the Rhode Island Department of Education.
Nationally, the Milken Family Foundation's 2026-27 tour plans to surprise up to 30 educators across the country, expanding a network of more than 3,000 Milken Educators backed by over $76 million in direct cash prizes awarded since 1987. That scale underscores just how selective the honor is — and how rare it is for a small urban district like Central Falls to land a winner.
Building Job Skills Through the RISE Café and Food Truck
Under Jones' instruction, students in the transition program earn ServSafe certifications and get hands-on experience running the RISE Café, short for Rising Independent Student Entrepreneurs, as well as “A Taste of Central Falls,” a student-run food truck the program acquired through a 2023 state initiative, according to the Rhode Island Department of Education. Those programs give students with special needs real-world job training as they prepare to transition into adulthood.
The win comes against the backdrop of a district that has faced steep structural challenges for decades. Central Falls School District occupies just one square mile and has operated under Rhode Island state control since 1991 due to emergency financial insolvency, though city officials have worked with Brown University researchers between 2024 and 2026 to plan a return to municipal control, per Brown University. The district serves nearly 2,900 students, with 80% identifying as students of color, including 54% who are Hispanic or Latino, 68% qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, and 24% classified as English language learners, according to K-12 Dive.
The Milken Award has recently recognized educators across New England and beyond, including Southbridge Middle School's Jillian Lombardi and Tennessee's Holly Logan, part of a wave of surprise assemblies that have become the award's signature reveal nationwide. For Central Falls, a district of just one square mile working its way back toward local control, Jones' recognition marks a rare moment in the national spotlight.
