New Teacher of the Year to be named Sunday

By KAALTV

(ABC 6 News) – The new Minnesota Teacher of the Year will be named this Sunday, May 7. The Saint Paul RiverCentre hosts this year’s Teacher of the Year event.

Sarah Lancaster, the current Minnesota Teacher of the Year, will announce her successor at the ceremony. This is the 59th year for the program. Minnesota has produced four National Teachers of the Year, more than any state except Washington and California.

The ceremony takes place at 1 p.m. in Ballrooms C-D at the Saint Paul RiverCentre. The announcement of the new Teacher of the Year should take place between 2:30 and 3 p.m.

In addition, the announcement itself will be broadcast live on Facebook on the Minnesota Teacher of the Year Facebook page between 2:30-3 p.m. 

The 2023 Minnesota Teacher of the Year will come from a field of 11 finalists. There were 132 candidates in this year’s original field. This year’s finalists (listed alphabetically, with school, district, subject and grade[s] taught) 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.