What is the amount of the fellowship?

The Herb Kohl Fellowship is a one time only $6,000 award to the selected educator, and the educator's school also receives $6,000. One hundred fellowships are awarded annually.

Who is eligible?

Pre-K through Grade 12 Wisconsin teachers must first be nominated by a parent, teacher, student, community member or administrator before they can apply. Because the purpose of this program is to recognize the contribution of Wisconsin classroom teachers, those staff members whose assignments are administrative or supervisory are ineligible. Previous Kohl Fellowship recipients are ineligible. Potential candidates should intend to continue teaching in their current capacity for at least the year following receipt of the Kohl Fellowship. See the page entitled "Accept a Nomination" for a detailed list of evaluation criteria.  Teachers who were previously nominated and applied, but did not receive a Fellowship, are eligible to reapply if nominated.

How can I nominate a teacher?

Use the online nomination form that appears on this website.  See the page entitled "Nominate a Teacher". 

After an educator is nominated, what is the next step?

Nominated educators are notified by email of their nomination. If they choose to apply, they will be evaluated on their ability to inspire a love of learning in their students, ability to motivate others, and their leadership and service within and outside the classroom.  See the page entitled "Accept a Nomination" for a detailed list of evaluation criteria. Also read the sample Scoring Rubric.  Previous Fellowship recipients are not eligible to apply, however educators who have been nominated in the past but not selected as a Fellowship recipient may re-apply if re-nominated.

What is the application deadline?

The deadline for submitting a completed 2024 application will be posted when it finalized.

What is the selection process?

Public school applicants are screened at either the teacher's Cooperative Educational Service Agency (CESA) or for teachers in Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS), through the MPS District office.  Private school applicants are screened by a combination of private and public school representatives.  Regional selection committees will select 200 finalists, whose applications will be reviewed and scored by a statewide selection committee in late January or February 2023. See the page entitled "Nomination and Selection Process" for more information.  

How will an applicant be notified if he or she has been chosen to receive a Kohl Fellowship?

Each Fellowship recipient will be contacted by the Herb Kohl Educational Foundation in no later than March, 2023. The Fellowship grants are sent to the Fellowship recipient and the recipient's school in May.

Are there restrictions on how the Fellowship may be used?

There are no restrictions on how a Fellow may use his or her $6,000 award. The Kohl Foundation suggests that the Fellowship recipient's school use its $6,000 matching grant for innovation in education.