Education Minnesota announced 11 finalists for the 2022 Minnesota Teacher of the Year Award, with two St. Cloud State alumni making it on the narrowed down list.
Alumna Sarah Lancaster ’13 and alumnus Jon Fila ’99 advanced to the semifinalist round after making it out of the initial list of 77 candidates for the award. Lancaster — who teaches first grade at Onamia Elementary School — and Fila — who teaches 9th-12th grade English at Northern Star Online — advanced to the field of finalists out of the list of 25 semifinalists, a field announced in March.
This year’s program will name the 58th Minnesota Teacher of the Year, a program that celebrates the tradition of excellence in teaching in the state. Eligible candidates include pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade educators, Early Childhood Family Education and Adult Basic Education teachers throughout the state.
An independent panel of 22 leaders in the fields of education, business, government, nonprofit and philanthropy will review semifinalists’ portfolios before narrowing the list to a group of finalists. The panel will meet at the end of April to conduct interviews with each finalist, then voting for a winner of the 2022 Minnesota Teacher of the Year Award who will be announced during a banquet held May 1 in St. Paul.
In January, the panel announced the initial field of candidates for the award, with seven St. Cloud State alumni on that list. They included:
- Pam Gabrielsen ’96, ’03, Mankato Area Public Schools
- Jon Fila ’99, Intermediate District 287
- Sarah Lancaster ’13, Onamia Public Schools
- Tyler Blom ’16, Proctor Public Schools
- Trisha Bemboom ’99, Sauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools
- Tina Douvier ’90, Sauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools
- Mara Drill ’00, Westonka Public Schools
