It’s that time of year again–please consider nominating Mineral Point educators for the following awards. They are some of the most prestigious honors that can be earned in the state. Please read below for details on the two categories, Fellowship and Leadership. The Herb Kohl Foundation annually selects 100 teachers and a maximum of 17 principals to receive awards.
Kohl Educational Foundation Fellowship Award
Teacher nominations for the 2023 Herb Kohl Educational Foundation Fellowship Award can now be obtained from http://www.kohleducation.org/teacherfellowship/public/nominate_a_teacher.php. The deadline for submission is October 4, 2022 at 5 pm.
Fellowships are $6,000, with an additional $6,000 grant going to the school of each Kohl Fellow.
NOMINATION PROCESS
Teachers must be nominated for a Fellowship to be eligible to compete for a Fellowship. Teachers can be nominated by students, parents, other teachers, community members, or administrators. Because the program’s purpose is to recognize the contributions of Wisconsin classroom teachers, staff members whose assignments are administrative or supervisory are not eligible. All PK-12 classroom teachers who plan to continue teaching in their current or similar capacity for a minimum of 50% full-time equivalency during the 2023-2024 school year are eligible to be considered for the 2023 award.
Special services teachers are also eligible. Special services teachers are those who serve in a PK-12 capacity other than that of a classroom teacher. Like classroom teachers, they must have daily face-to-face contact with students. Teachers employed as virtual school teachers associated with a school district are also eligible for nomination. Special services roles can include, but are not limited to: special education, gifted and talented (or other exceptional needs), instructional resource or interventionist, speech language pathologist, school counseling, school psychologist, school nurse, school social worker, or instructional media personnel.
Pre-school teachers must teach in a Pre-K program that is affiliated with an elementary school or school district, must be employees of the district, and must be a licensed teacher in Wisconsin.
Previous Fellowship recipients are ineligible, however applicants who have been nominated in the past but not selected to receive a Fellowship may apply again if nominated.
SELECTION PROCESS
Once verified as complete, applications will first be reviewed regionally at either the teacher’s Cooperative Educational Service Agency (CESA), or for teachers in the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS), through the MPS District Office. CESA agencies will reach out and create Regional Selection Committees, to include students, parents, teachers, administrators, school board members, civic and business leaders, and local newspaper people. Teachers will be notified by their CESA or MPS Regional Selection Committee whether or not they have progressed to the Statewide Selection Committee.
Successful 2023 applicants’ materials will be forwarded to a State Selection Committee by Tuesday, January 10, 2023. Applicants not advancing to the Statewide Selection Committee will be notified by their CESA agency or MPS. Representatives of the Herb Kohl Educational Foundation, CESAs and MPS, the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation, the Wisconsin Homeschool Parents Association, and state education-related associations serve on the State Selection Committee. Applicants who have reached the Statewide Selection Committee will be contacted no later than March 2023 with the results.
Kohl Educational Foundation Leadership Award
Nominations for the 2023 Herb Kohl Educational Foundation Leadership Award can now be obtained from http://www.kohleducation.org/principalleadership/public/nominate.php. The deadline for submission is October 14, 2022 at 5 pm.
Leadership awards are $6,000, with an additional $6,000 grant going to the school of each selected Herb Kohl Leader.
NOMINATION PROCESS
Principals must be nominated for a Kohl Leadership Award to be eligible to compete for a Leadership Award. Principals can be nominated by students, parents, other teachers, community members, or school district administrators. Because the program’s purpose is to recognize the contributions of Wisconsin school building administrators, assistant principals (including administrative or supervisory roles such as Dean of Students), district administrators and superintendents are not eligible.
Additionally, previous Herb Kohl Principal Leadership Award recipients are ineligible, however, an applicant who has previously received a Kohl Student Scholarship when in high school or a Teacher Fellowship is still eligible. Principals who have been nominated in the past but not selected as a Leadership Award recipient may re-apply if nominated. Nominations must be submitted on the Herb Kohl Educational Foundation website.
A principal does not need to be an Association of Wisconsin School Administrators (AWSA) member to be eligible for a Principal Leadership Award.
SELECTION PROCESS
AWSA will review each 2023 applicant’s packet for necessary materials and completeness. Successful applicants’ materials will be forwarded to a State Selection Committee. Representatives of the Kohl Educational Foundation, CESAs and MPS, the Wisconsin Newspaper Association, and state education-related associations serve on the State Selection Committee. Applicants who have been nominated for the 2023 award, and have reached the Statewide Selection Committee level, will be contacted in early 2023. Award recipients will be notified of their selection by the Herb Kohl Educational Foundation no later than March, 2023. AWSA will choose the public school Elementary and Secondary Principal of the Year from among the recipients of the Herb Kohl Leadership Award.
Mineral Point’s prior Herb Kohl educator winners include:
- Teacher Fellowship: Bonnie Laverty, 1997; Matt Nevers, 2017; Kris McCoy, 2018; Micki Uppena, 2020; Cindi Nothem, 2022.
- Leadership Award: Matt Renwick, 2021.