Eleven teachers have been named finalists for the Minnesota Teacher of the Year award, which is presented annually by Education Minnesota, the 70,000-member statewide teachers' union.
11 are finalists for Minnesota Teacher of the Year award
By Star Tribune
There were 101 Teacher of the Year candidates this year.
The finalists are:
• Cynthia Oppold, a math teacher at Hastings High School
• Amber Damm, an English/language arts teacher at Clara Barton Open School in Minneapolis
• Marcia Anderson, a math teacher at Owatonna High School
• Mary Ellen Wade, a special education teacher at A.I. Jedlicka Middle School in Proctor
• Catarina Alme, an English teacher at Century High School in Rochester
• Michael Olson, a third-grade teacher at Folwell Elementary School in Rochester
• Aaron Nelson, an 11th- and 12th-grade social studies teacher at Roseau Public School
• Tien Le, a kindergarten teacher at Adams Spanish Immersion School in St. Paul
• Thomas Bedard, an early childhood education teacher at Highland Early Childhood Family Education in St. Paul
• Jennifer Parker, a third- and fourth-grade teacher at Pilot Knob Elementary School in Eagan
• Luke Merchlewitz, a second-grade teacher at Washington-Kosciusko Elementary School in Winona
The Teacher of the Year will be announced at a banquet on May 3. The 2008 Minnesota Teacher of the Year was Derek Olson of the Stillwater School District.
EMILY JOHNS