In the last five years, 15 Sauk Prairie Education Association members have been awarded Herb Kohl Foundation Teacher Fellowships, in no small part because of the leadership and organizing of SPEA.
The Herb Kohl Educational Foundation Teacher Fellowship awards 100 outstanding Wisconsin educators a $6,000 grant, plus an additional matching $6,000 grant for their schools. Also, each year the Wisconsin Department of Public Education selects five Wisconsin Teachers of the Year from among the previous year's Kohl fellows. SPEA member Tanya Lassanske, a Sauk Prairie High School counselor and 2026 Kohl Fellowship recipient, is a 2027 Wisconsin Teacher of the Year.
SPEA President Mary Walz and her building representatives encourage SPEA members to apply for the lucrative, prestigious fellowships and work closely with them on their applications throughout the process.
"It's an honor, it's money for the member and money for the school district," Walz said. "It's an acknowledgement of how much we care about students and how hard we work."
While the reasons to pursue a fellowship are clear, the process of becoming a fellow does not just take care of itself. When Walz and other SPEA leaders noticed in 2019 that several educators in neighboring districts won fellowships but no one in Sauk Prairie had, they decided the union should take action. They started with the knowledge that you can't win if you aren't nominated.
"At the beginning of the year, we ask members, 'Would you be interested in being nominated for a Kohl award?'," Walz said. "The building representatives meet with members who say they are interested and we meet with them after school in my classroom every other week and work on their applications together."
Walz, a math teacher at Sauk Prairie High School with 38 years of teaching experience, was awarded a Kohl Fellowship in 2025. She says there is no single formula for who is awarded the fellowships, but she encourages applicants to include as much community service and community connection as possible.
"We all have something about us to be proud of and that we deserve to be recognized for," Walz said.
However, just being great at your job is not enough if you want to win a Kohl Fellowship. The awards are very competitive and the application is lengthy. Applying takes time and requires attention to detail. Getting help from people who know and understand the process can be invaluable.
"Organizing works," Walz said.
The deadline to nominate an educator for a teacher fellowship is November 13, 2026, and nominated educators have until January 5, 2027, to complete their applications.
