Luke Kanine is the kind of small-town educator who not only teaches middle school P.E. and Spanish but serves as the behavior interventionist. He also is a coach, coordinates field days, creates special evening events for students and runs the concession stand at athletic events to help buy P.E. equipment.
So last Friday, it was no surprise that he helped set up the gym for an assembly at E.F. Rittmueller Middle School in Frankenmuth, Michigan.
“They did a really good job of keeping me in the dark,” he mused.
The surprise assembly he set up chairs for was for him. The Grand Canyon University alumnus was called to the front to accept the prestigious Milken Educator Award, known as the “Oscars of Teaching,” for his commitment to his students. He became Michigan’s only Milken winner of the honor this year, among 45 educators annually chosen for furthering educational excellence by the Milken Family Foundation.
He became the sixth GCU graduate in four years to win the award, which comes with $25,000.
“You hear your name, and you can’t believe it,” Kanine said. “You get up in front of all your co-workers and friends and kids and it’s just such a special moment. It’s pretty incredible.”
Kanine was feted at the ceremony by Michigan Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Michael F. Rice, who said Kanine was helping students attain fitness goals and learn a language, and he was working to make the school safer. He helped create a discipline policy and social-emotional learning curriculum and works with students on behavioral improvement.
“I’ve always been kids first when I first took the job here in 2014,” Kanine said in an interview. “The school principal stopped me, looked me in the face and said, ‘Kids first, then content,’ and that has always stuck with me.
“You get those kids and you care about them and you love them – and watch what they will do for you. There is a lot of truth in that.
“And I didn’t say no. I did everything – coaching middle school and high school sports, sign language, whatever was throw at me I did it.”
He grew in his field after attaining his master’s degree in educational leadership and administration at GCU in 2022, learning to use restorative practices and interventions to strengthen his role as a behavioral interventionist.
“GCU was education and education in the right way – putting kids first and doing right by kids – and making sure you are taking all the necessary steps, following the policies and laws, to ensure kids are taken care of and staff are taken care of and you have a successful school.”
Although Kanine studied online, he took a trip to campus in Phoenix and attended a men’s basketball game with a friend who once played for GCU coach Bryce Drew while he was at Valparaiso.
“A basketball game in that arena is totally insane,” he said of the famed atmosphere at GCU games. “You know, they are such an amazing school that helped me take my career to the next level.”
Dr. Shelia Damiani, senior faculty chair in the Department of Online Teaching and Learning at GCU, said that faculty fosters a student-first culture and equips educators with tools to become great teachers. “Seeing six alumni earn Milken Educator Awards in just four years is a testament to the impact of our faculty, staff and programs in shaping high-achieving educators who make a lasting difference in their communities.”
Kanine said teaching is a tough profession. “You are helping parents raise their kids, and you don’t get compensated, but you do it because it’s the right thing to do.”
The rewards are great, too.
“It’s probably the little things nobody knows about. You do what you do for a kid because you know in your gut it is right. You try to do right by the kid, seeing them go through stuff, and it’s the email a couple years later that tells you, ‘You know, I was in a bad, bad place when I came to Frankenmuth. Thank you for seeing me, thank you for treating me like a human.’”
Grand Canyon University senior writer Mike Kilen can be reached at [email protected]
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