Highlands Elementary Educator Named Edina Teacher Of The Year

EDINA, MN — Highlands Elementary educator Cara Rieckenberg is set to be honored Wednesday after being crowned as Edina’s top teacher.

The Edina Chamber of Commerce named Rieckenberg its 2022 Teacher of the Year after receiving many nominations from her students and their parents. The chamber is scheduled to celebrate Rieckenberg at a luncheon Wednesday.

Rieckenberg, a continuous progress teacher at Highlands Elementary, has been an educator for 20 years. She previously served in Prior Lake and Robbinsdale schools before joining Edina Public Schools in 2020, according to the district.

She was named Minnesota's Science Teacher of the Year in 2014 while working at Robbinsdale’s School of Engineering and Arts.

Rieckenberg holds a doctorate in educational leadership and is an adjunct professor at the University of St. Thomas, St. Catherine University and Hamline University, according to the district.

She recently led four of her students to a third-place finish in the Minnesota Zoo’s 2021-22 ZOOMS STEM Design Challenge for their plans on how to expand the Wolf Ridge exhibit.

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