10 selected as Minnesota Teacher of the Year finalists
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St. Paul, Minn., March 28, 2011 – Ten teachers from across the state have been named finalists in the 2011 Minnesota Teacher of the Year program. A selection panel of 23 leaders in the areas of business, government and non-profits selected the finalists from a group of 30 semifinalists. There were 108 Teacher of the Year candidates for this program year.
The 2011 Minnesota Teacher of the Year finalists are:
- Joyce Baumann, ROCORI, elementary, kindergarten, Cold Spring Elementary School
- Scot Hovan, Mahtomedi, physics, grades 11-12, Mahtomedi High School
- Mark Nechanicky, Albert Lea, elementary, grade 4, Lakeview Elementary School
- Mary Perrine, Eastern Carver County, history, grade 6, Chaska Middle School East
- Peter Redmond, St. Louis Park, language arts, grades 9-12, St. Louis Park High School
- Christi Schmitt, St. Paul, English language learning, grades K-6, L’Etoile du Nord French Immersion School
- Laura Sharp, Roseville, vocal music, grades K-6, Little Canada Elementary School
- Katy Smith, Winona, parent education, adult, early childhood family education at Goodview School
- Megan Speers, Wayzata, U.S. history, grade 7, Wayzata West Middle School
- J. Scott Urban, Mankato, advanced placement government and advanced placement U.S. history, grades 10-12, Mankato West High School
The selection panel meets again April 30 to conduct individual interviews with the 10 finalists and cast votes for the 2011 Minnesota Teacher of the Year.
The 2010 Minnesota Teacher of the Year, Ryan Vernosh of the St. Paul School District, will announce this year’s honoree at a banquet at The Northland Inn in Brooklyn Park on May 1. Banquet tickets must be ordered by April 22.
Education Minnesota, the 70,000-member statewide educators union, organizes and underwrites the Teacher of the Year program. Candidates include pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade teachers from public or private schools. The Minnesota Teacher of the Year Program also receives support from the following organizations: The SMARTer Kids Foundation, The Northland Inn, United Educators Credit Union, the Harvard Club of Minnesota Foundation, Education Minnesota ESI, McDonald’s Restaurants of Minnesota, Pearson Education and TruStone Financial. This year marks the program’s 47th anniversary.
March 28, 2011