The selection committee for the Herb Kohl Educational Foundation Scholarship, Fellowship, and Leadership Program announced Friday, February 14 the recipients of the 2020 Herb Kohl Foundation awards for students, teachers, and principals. 

Each student will receive a $10,000 scholarship, and each teacher and principal will receive a $6,000 award. A matching $6,000 award will be given to each teacher’s and principal’s school. One hundred ninety-six student scholarships, 100 teacher fellowships, and 16 principal leadership awards have been announced.

The Mineral Point Unified School District is proud to report that Micki Uppena, Elementary School Librarian has been named a winner of the Teacher Fellowship, and Mineral Point High School Senior Cody Pierce has been named an Excellence Scholar.  

Fellowship recipients are educators who have been chosen for their superior ability to inspire a love of learning in their students, their ability to motivate others, and their leadership and service within and outside the classroom.

Student Excellence Scholarship recipients have demonstrated excellence in the academic arena and high motivation to achieve, have displayed a broad range of activity and leadership outside the academic setting, and have shown strong promise for succeeding in college and beyond.

Excellence Scholarship, Fellowship and Leadership Award recipients are selected by a statewide committee composed of civic leaders, representatives of education-related associations, and the program’s co-sponsors: the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Wisconsin Council of Religious and Independent Schools (WCRIS), regional Cooperative Educational Service Agencies (CESA), the Association of Wisconsin School Administrators, and the Wisconsin Parents Association.

The Kohl Foundation Scholarship and Fellowship program was established by Herb Kohl, philanthropist and businessman, in 1990. 

The Pointer duo will be honored at a ceremony at Baraboo High School Saturday, May 16.

Past Mineral Point recipients of the Herb Kohl awards at the state level include:

  • Student Excellence: Marsha Bingham, 1991; Christopher Marr, 2004.
  • Student Initiative: Sarah Janke, 2002; Cory Sokol, 2005; Sierra Gunderson, 2011; Ireln King, 2018.
  • Teacher Fellowship: Bonnie Laverty, 1997; Matt Nevers, 2017; Kris McCoy, 2018.