Former Politician Surprises Wisconsin Teachers by Funding All Classroom Requests for Entire State

Yesterday, as thousands of Wisconsin classrooms kick off the school year, Herb Kohl Philanthropies announced they are fully funding the requests of every Wisconsin teacher posted on the education crowdfunding site DonorsChoose.org. That means that if you went to the website at 12:01am on Tuesday and searched projects in the state, you would have found absolutely none because former U.S. Senator Herb Kohl had funded all of them.

As a result of his generosity, approximately 600 Wisconsin teachers will receive materials for their 43,000 students — ranging from health and hygiene items to paper, pencils and books to laptops, musical instruments and microscopes.

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“We owe a lot to our teachers and hold enormous hope for our students,” said Kohl, a successful businessman from the state who founded Kohl’s department stores. “They are both a constant source of inspiration.”

On DonorsChoose.org, teachers post projects requesting materials they need for their classrooms, and anyone across the country can support the projects that inspire them.

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Among the projects funded were robotics kits for Ms. Heard’s 3rd–5th grade students to explore modes of transportation throughout Wisconsin’s history, and materials to take learning outside for Ms. Mortensen’s first grade students at Midvale Elementary School in Madison.

Nearly 700 projects were funded in 140 Wisconsin school districts. Sen. Kohl posted a message on every funded project, letting teachers know they were part of the surprise.

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“I would like to personally thank Herb Kohl for his recognition of the importance of our work and for his willingness to help turn the dreams of those educators and students into realities,” said Dr. Tony Evers, State Superintendent of the Department of Public Instruction.

Herb Kohl Philanthropies has long supported Wisconsin’s teachers and their schools through a Scholarship and Fellowship award program. He also sponsors the state’s Teacher of the Year program and has added a new category to his award program that recognizes Principals for outstanding school leadership. In addition, they support literacy, pathways to college and experiential learning.

SHARE Some Good News!… (Photo via Whitney Achievement Elementary School)