Mike Kish may have an honorary street named after him outside the new Immaculate Conception Catholic Church on Palmer Road, but you would never know because the road sign is still sitting in Kish’s office a few minutes away at Immaculate Conception School in downtown Columbia.

Kish, who is proud to be “born and raised” in Columbia, is a well-known school official, and rightly so: he has served as principal of ICS for four decades, not to mention the other 12 years he spent as a student prior to being an administrator.

But his title is simply that, a title. Kish’s job is to ensure that ICS ranks among the region’s top-performing parochial grade schools. For Kish, keeping ICS at the head of the pack comes at a time when national and local educators agree that education funding faces uncertainty in the times ahead.

For example, Kish was recently honored by Peabody Energy through its Leaders in Education program for his leadership at ICS, which includes plans to build a new school building near the church on Palmer Road.

Still, Kish hopes to grow and strengthen ICS, which has gained him recognition from local and global powerhouses that include St. Louis-based Peabody and its $1,000 award as part of its Leaders in Education program. Kish was one of nine honorees and is now a candidate for a $5,000 award that Peabody will present in August.

“It’s a humble thing,” said Kish, referring to the honorary street sign. “Nobody in life does anything alone, and I couldn’t have done this without everyone around me.”

In its latest annual report, the National Catholic Educational Association reported that 27 new Catholic schools opened throughout the country last year; meanwhile, 88 schools consolidated or closed.

If you’re wondering where that money will go, Kish will simply tell you that “it’s everyone’s award.” Nine hundred dollars from the award are going toward the proposed new school building near the church  and $100 is going to ICS sister school Sister Thea Bowman Catholic School in East St. Louis.

Kish is sincere when speaking about what he calls “everyone’s award.” He attributes every accomplishment at ICS to the staff and families that support him.

As Kish celebrated 40 years at the ICS “Mad Hatter’s Ball” dinner auction earlier this year and received his award from Peabody, his main focus remains simply on solving “little spats that are my big problems,” he said, referring to arguments between students over playground rules.

“This really is an idyllic situation for a learning environment,” he said.

To show their appreciation of Kish, students created a one-of-a-kind piece of musical artwork: a painting of the 12-string Alvarez guitar Kish plays signed by the current seventh grade class at ICS.

The guitar-art, as Kish puts it, is a “dead ringer” for his passion for the well-being of ICS and its students, with a little creative flair mixed in.

Kish has been married for nearly 44 years to Jeanne Jablonski of Fairmont City, and the couple has three daughters.