11 selected as Teacher of the Year finalists

By KAALTV

(ABC 6 News) – The 2023 Minnesota Teacher of the Year will be chosen from a group of 11 teachers from across the state who have been named finalists in the program. An independent selection panel of 21 leaders in the areas of education, business, government and nonprofits selected the finalists from a group of 44 semifinalists. There were 132 candidates for this program year.

The selection panel meets again May 6 to conduct individual interviews with each of the 11 finalists and to cast votes for the 2023 Minnesota Teacher of the Year. For a look at how the selection process works, go HERE.

The 2022 Minnesota Teacher of the Year, Sarah Lancaster of Onamia Elementary School in Onamia, will announce this year’s honoree at a banquet at the Saint Paul RiverCentre May 7.

Education Minnesota, the statewide educators union, organizes and underwrites the Teacher of the Year program. Candidates include pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade, Early Childhood Family Education and Adult Basic Education teachers, from public or private schools. The Minnesota Teacher of the Year program also receives support from the following organizations: Education Minnesota ESI, Educators Lifetime Solutions, EFS Advisors, Expedition Credit Union, Harvard Club of Minnesota Foundation and SMART Technologies.

The 2023 Minnesota Teacher of the Year finalists are:

  • Fatuma Ali, Hopkins High School, Hopkins Public Schools, English, 10th-12th
  • Michael Houston, Harding High School, Saint Paul Public Schools, mathematics, 9th-12th
  • Molly Megan Keenan, Harding High School, Saint Paul Public Schools, social studies/history, 9th-12th
  • Bee Lee, Emmet D. Williams Elementary, Roseville Area Public Schools, visual arts, K-6th
  • Josh Mann, St. Michael-Albertville High School, St. Michael-Albertville School District, social studies, 9th-12th
  • Giovanna Valeria Margalli, Cornelia Elementary School, Edina Public Schools, elementary education, 4th
  • Sorcha Nix, Open World Learning Community, Saint Paul Public Schools, science, 8th-9th
  • John Peter, Pelican Rapids High School, Pelican Rapids Public Schools, English as a second language, 7th-12th
  • Fathimath Eliza Rasheed, Global Arts Plus-Upper Campus, Saint Paul Public Schools, theatre, 5th-8th
  • Joe Schulte, Sartell High School, Sartell-St. Stephen School District 748, technology education, 9th-12th
  • Allyson Wolff, Eisenhower Elementary School, Hopkins Public Schools, Spanish Immersion, 1st