Mother and father, college students, faculty employees members, and others are inspired to appoint excellent public-school educators for the Michigan Lottery’s 2025-26 Excellence In Schooling awards.
All public-school workers could also be nominated for the Excellence In Schooling awards, which acknowledge educators who go “above and past” to make a distinction within the lives of youngsters. To appoint a public-school educator, go to https://www.michiganlottery.com/excellence-in-education.
“The Excellence in Schooling awards are our approach of honoring the outstanding work being accomplished by educators in communities all through Michigan,” mentioned Lottery Commissioner Suzanna Shkreli. “These devoted professionals achieve this far more than train; they’re a relentless, supportive presence who instill lifelong abilities and encourage college students to consider in themselves.”
The Michigan Lottery established the Excellence in Schooling awards in 2014 to acknowledge excellent public-school educators throughout the state through the faculty 12 months.
One excellent educator might be chosen every week and can obtain a $2,000 money prize. On the finish of the varsity 12 months, one among these weekly award winners might be chosen to obtain the Lottery’s Educator of the Yr award and can obtain a $10,000 money prize.
Winners of the weekly award are featured in a information section on the Lottery’s media associate stations: WXYZ-TV in Detroit, FOX 17 in Grand Rapids, FOX 47 in Lansing, WNEM-TV in Saginaw, WWTV-TV in Traverse Metropolis, and WLUC-TV in Marquette.
The winner of the 2025 Educator of the Yr award was Kelly Herberholz, a science instructor and administrative intern with Dakota Excessive College in Macomb.
A whole bunch of educators have been nominated through the 2024-25 faculty 12 months, which was the eleventh 12 months of the Excellence in Schooling awards program. Thirty-four of those nominees, together with Herberholz, have been chosen to win a weekly award.
Earlier winners of the Educator of the Yr award:
2024 – Samantha TwoCrow, the director of the Indigenous Schooling Program for Suttons Bay Public Colleges in Suttons Bay.
2023 – Kathryn Kluzak, a kindergarten instructor with Robert L. Inexperienced Elementary in East Lansing.
2022 – Spencer Vanderheide, a highschool instructor with Kenowa Hills Excessive College in Grand Rapids.
2021 – Janice Smith, a faculty social employee at Fisher Magnet Decrease Academy in Detroit.
2020 – Megan Sidge, an Autism Spectrum Dysfunction instructor at Hickory Woods Elementary in Walled Lake.
2019 – Stewart Kieliszewski, an Earth science, biology, mechatronics, and media instructor for eighth by way of 12 graders on the Ubly Neighborhood Colleges.
2018 – Kerri Moccio, a first-grade literacy intervention specialist at Bedford Elementary College in Dearborn Heights.
2017 – Linda Holzwarth, a social research instructor at Portage West Center College in Portage.
2016 – Daniel Carr, a Spanish and sports activities advertising and marketing instructor at Waverly Excessive College in Lansing.
2015 – Michael Craig, a particular schooling instructor on the Charles Drew Transition Heart in Detroit.
Excellence In Schooling award nominees ought to exhibit the next qualities:
- Excellence – Their work constantly helps college students and/or their colleges or faculty districts advance to larger ranges of educational achievement.
- Dedication – They constantly go above and past expectations to assist college students succeed.
- Inspiration – Their work evokes others round them to exceed expectations both academically or professionally.
- Management – They exhibit clear management abilities of their positions with their faculty or faculty districts.
- Effectiveness – The nominee’s work has clear and constructive outcomes on the academic development of scholars inside the faculty or faculty district.
