The Annual

Middleton Awards

By Degrees Foundation presents the annual Middleton Awards, which honors the legacy of Joan and the late Lyle Middleton. These two remarkable Iowans who devoted their lives to supporting children and advancing education.

Nominte

2025 Middleton Awards

Toast to Education Educator Excellence Square.png

Educator Nominations

This award is presented to an educator who has made a transformative impact on students through their work in the classroom. Eligible nominees must be current educators at Findley Elementary, Harding Middle, or North High School, where By Degrees Foundation provides programming. Nominations for the 2025 award are now closed.

Toast to Education Childrens Advocacy Square.png

Community Leader Nominations

This award will also be presented to a community member who has significantly advanced the lives of children in central Iowa through advocacy, volunteerism, public policy, philanthropy, or their professional work. Nominations for the 2025 award are now closed.

About Joan & Lyle Middleton

Joan and the late Lyle Middleton are longtime Des Moines residents and children's advocates. They began working with By Degrees Foundation in 1990 and supported the second cohort of students in 1996. Joan and Lyle also established the Joan and Lyle Middleton Center for Children’s Rights at Drake University School of Law and endowed the School of Education’s Urban Education Program.

Meet the 2025 Recipients of the Middleton Award

Middleton Award
for Children's Advocacy

Craig Millhollin

Middleton Award
for Educator Excellence

Emma Armstrong

Science Teacher, Harding Middle School

Craig is a Des Moines native who spent his early years in the Highland Park area and attended Warren Harding Jr High and graduated from North High School in 1963. He then graduated from Iowa State University in 1967 with a Bachelor of Science degree and spent several years in the Des Moines area in the retail clothing business. He changed to work in the financial services industry in 1998 and retired from that work in 2015.

Since then, he has spent time with his wife of 59 years, Marilyn who has worked with him over the years as an advocate for students and their education. He also enjoys time with his daughter Kristin, sons Chad and Rob and especially watching his 10 grandchildren grow and are now aged 15 to 31.

Craig met Joan and Lyle Middleton in the 80’s and has been a fan of that family since. He is very humbled to receive an honor in Joan’s name. He intends to continue to do what he can to advocate for the students of Des Moines.

Emma Armstrong has been a dedicated member of the Northside community since she first began student teaching at Harding Middle School in 2022. Hired shortly thereafter as a 7th-grade science teacher, Emma quickly established a reputation for her deep passion for student success, building strong relationships with both staff and students.

She has served as a Science Bound Coordinator for the last three years, playing a key role in expanding opportunities for underrepresented students in STEM fields and building pathways to college and careers. This school year, she is also taking on the leadership role of a Professional Learning Committee lead, in addition to coaching the Girls' flag football team for three seasons.