The leader of Minnesota's largest school district has won recognition as this year's state Superintendent of the Year.

Anoka-Hennepin Schools Superintendent David Law received the award this week from the Minnesota Association of School Administrators during that group's annual conference. He also is serving as the president of the association during the current school year.

Law is in his sixth school year as superintendent at Anoka-Hennepin, the same district where he attended school (at Sorteberg Elementary School, Northdale Middle School and Coon Rapids High School).

He began his teaching career at Coon Rapids High School and later served as a dean of students in the Mounds View Public Schools and as a middle school principal and assistant superintendent in the White Bear Lake Area Schools before returning to Anoka-Hennepin to take the district's top leadership position in 2014.

As leader of the Anoka-Hennepin School District, Law is the top administrator for teachers and staff who serve nearly 39,000 students in schools that cover 13 suburbs north of the Twin Cities. The district has 26 elementary schools, six middle schools and five high schools, plus several alternative school buildings.

During Law's time as superintendent, the district's voters passed a $249 million bond referendum, at that time the largest school referendum ever approved in the state. He has also been a leader of the "Reimagine Minnesota" initiative to erase achievement gaps between student groups.

Law is now in the running for the National Superintendent of the Year award, which will be handed out in early 2020.

Erin Golden • 612-673-4790