3 SoWashCo Educators Are Semifinalists For MN Teacher Of The Year

WOODBURY, MN — Three educators in the South Washington County Schools system are among the 25 semifinalists for the 2022 Minnesota Teacher of the Year award.

East Ridge High School teacher MacKenzie Hildahl and Andrea Welvaert, an autism spectrum disorder and center-based program teacher at Cottage Grove Middle School, were nominated in January alongside Park High Schools teachers Younna Eiden-Giel and Kiersten Jaeger.

Hildahl, Welvaert and Eiden-Giel were named earlier this month as semifinalists for the award.

Best Places To Live In America 2022: Where Woodbury Ranks

Rochester teacher Natalia Benjamin, who was named 2021 Minnesota Teacher of the Year, is due to pass the award to her successor at a ceremony tentatively scheduled for May 1 at the Saint Paul RiverCentre, according to Education Minnesota, the union that runs the Teacher of the Year program.

Seventy-seven teachers were nominated for the award. An independent panel of leaders in education, business, philanthropy and nonprofits reviewed their portfolios to choose 25 semifinalists.

$462M Schools Plan, Bond Proposal Headed To SoWashCo Board

The panel is expected to select 10 teachers as finalists later this month. The Minnesota Teacher of the Year honor is awarded to teachers in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, early childhood educators and basic education teachers.

Hildahl is an English teacher for 9th and 11th graders at East Ridge High School, while Eiden-Giel teaches social studies to juniors and seniors at Park Ridge High School, according to Education Minnesota.

UST Prof From Ukraine Sending First Aid, Ambulances To Frontlines

Welvaert is an autism spectrum disorder and center-based program teacher for grades 6-8 at Cottage Grove Middle School.

REGIONAL NEWS:

• OSHA Investigating Man’s Death After Work Injury In Stillwater
• Mahtomedi Skier ‘Honored’ To Represent US At 2022 Paralympics
• Ukraine Fundraiser In Stillwater Nets $6K For Relief Efforts
• MN National Guard Exits Nursing Homes As COVID-19 Cases Drop