The NEA Member Benefits Award for Teaching Excellence is The Salute to Excellence in Education's top award and one of public education's most prestigious honors.
Matthew Hamilton
Michigan Education Association
The NEA Foundation Awarded Matthew Hamilton, a seventh grade social studies educator and middle and high school video production educator at East Jordan Public Schools in East Jordan, Mich., is the recipient of the 2025 NEA Member Benefits Award for Teaching Excellence, one of public education’s top honors. The award, which comes with $25,000, was presented to Hamilton by NEA Member Benefits President and CEO Leona Lindner at the NEA Foundation Salute to Excellence in Education Gala on the evening of February 14.
One of the innovative ways Hamilton has helped students connect with others and with their own potential is through his club for middle school students, the Shoe Club. The Shoe Club encourages reading and reflection on life goals and motivation, and collects shoes from people across all walks of life, including astronauts, inventors, athletes, musicians, business people, and more. Hamilton has collected shoes from Stephen Spielberg, Dolly Parton, and Michael Jordan, to name a few, and asks students to consider what it would be like to “walk a day in someone else’s shoes.”
Hamilton also actively contributes to his school community through the Shoe Club. In recent years, he has worked with students on a number of school and community projects, including raising money to install solar panels for a school in their district, raising funds to enhance a school garden, and partnering with veterans to improve a community park. Through his hands-on community involvement, Hamilton is an advocate for the teaching profession as a means through which educators can positively impact not only their classrooms, but also the world around them.
This award is made possible through the generous support of NEA Member Benefits.
