Lottery Commissioner, Suzanna Shkreli (left), presenting Kevin Barkholz (right) with his Excellence in Education check
A Jackson County educator known for the lasting impact he has on his students has been honored with an Excellence In Education award from the Michigan Lottery.
The award winner, Kevin Barkholz, teaches AP Language and Composition at Jackson High School. The school is part of Jackson Public Schools.
The Michigan Lottery established the Excellence In Education awards in 2014 to recognize outstanding public-school educators across the state during the school year.
Winners of the weekly award receive a $2,000 cash prize. At the end of the school year, one of the weekly award winners will be selected to receive the Lottery’s Educator of the Year award and will receive a $10,000 cash prize.
Each winner also is featured in a news segment on the Lottery’s media partner stations: WXYZ-TV in Detroit, FOX 17 in Grand Rapids, FOX 47 in Lansing, WNEM-TV in Saginaw, and WWTV-TV in Traverse City. The news segment featuring Barkholz will air this evening.
“Kevin Barkholz was inspired to become a teacher because of the impact his teachers had on him when he was in school,” said Lottery Commissioner Suzanna Shkreli. “Kevin is a prime example of the influence teachers have on shaping their students’ futures and our future educators. Kevin now has the same influence on his students, shaping their love of learning and pushing them to do their best.”
Barkholz says teachers he had in school inspired him to pursue a career in education.
“Some of the personalities in my schooling helped shape my appreciation not just for learning, but opportunity. When we are young, we all need adults in our lives that give us chances to succeed, but more importantly, chances to fail. I was fortunate to have teachers, coaches, and professors that challenged me, yet also found ways to share their humility and patience.”
Barkholz was nominated for the award by a student.
“Mr. Barkholz has made a big impact on not just my education, but my life in general. He has passion and genuine care in his work and that is obvious in the way that he teaches. He teaches not to hand out assignments and grade them, but to actually get us to understand the information so we can apply it in different categories of our lives. He has completely changed my perspective of learning, and how to be a student. I have never been so impacted by a teacher in my 13 years of grade school like he has impacted me. I will forever be grateful and remember the skills he has taught me. He pushed me and all of his other students out of our comfort zone, and it forced us to consistently improve our writing and listening skills. I cannot think of a better teacher to receive this award.”
Barkholz earned a bachelor’s degrees from Siena Heights University and a master’s degree Concordia University. He has been an educator for 20 years, the last eight in his current position.
Excellence in Education award nominees are evaluated on the following criteria:
- Excellence – Their work consistently helps students and/or their schools or school districts advance to higher levels of academic achievement.
- Dedication – They consistently go above and beyond expectations to help students succeed.
- Inspiration – Their work inspires others around them to exceed expectations either academically or professionally.
- Leadership – They demonstrate clear leadership skills in their positions with their school or school districts.
- Effectiveness – The nominee’s work has clear and positive results on the educational advancement of students within the school or school district.
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