Great Lakes Wire

Nominations are now open for the Michigan Lottery’s 2025-26 Excellence in Education awards, which honor outstanding public-school educators across the state. Parents, students, school staff members, and community members are encouraged to submit nominations for educators who have made a significant impact in their schools.

All public-school employees are eligible for nomination. The program recognizes those who go “above and beyond” in their work with children. Nominations can be submitted through the official website at https://www.michiganlottery.com/excellence-in-education.

“The Excellence in Education awards are our way of honoring the phenomenal work being done by educators in communities throughout Michigan,” said Lottery Commissioner Suzanna Shkreli. “These dedicated professionals do so much more than teach; they are a constant, supportive presence who instill lifelong skills and inspire students to believe in themselves.”

The awards were created by the Michigan Lottery in 2014 to highlight exceptional contributions from educators during each school year. Each week, one educator is selected for recognition and receives a $2,000 cash prize. At the end of the year, one weekly winner is chosen as Educator of the Year and awarded an additional $10,000.

Weekly award recipients appear on news segments aired by several media partner stations: WXYZ-TV (Detroit), FOX 17 (Grand Rapids), FOX 47 (Lansing), WNEM-TV (Saginaw), WWTV-TV (Traverse City), and WLUC-TV (Marquette).

Kelly Herberholz, a science teacher and administrative intern at Dakota High School in Macomb, was named the 2025 Educator of the Year. During the 2024-25 school year—the program’s eleventh—hundreds of educators were nominated. Thirty-four received weekly awards.

Past Educator of the Year winners include Samantha TwoCrow (2024), Kathryn Kluzak (2023), Spencer Vanderheide (2022), Janice Smith (2021), Megan Sidge (2020), Stewart Kieliszewski (2019), Kerri Moccio (2018), Linda Holzwarth (2017), Daniel Carr (2016), and Michael Craig (2015).

Nominees for Excellence In Education should show consistent excellence in advancing student achievement, dedication beyond expectations, inspiration to others academically or professionally, leadership within their schools or districts, and effective results that benefit students’ educational progress.