Education Minnesota announced 44 semifinalists for the 2023 Minnesota Teacher of the Year Award, with three St. Cloud State alumni making it on the narrowed down list.
Alumnae Angela Mahowald ’10 and Lisa Neaderhiser ’92 and alumnus Joe Schulte ’01, ’08 advance to the semifinalist round after making it out of the initial list of 132 candidates announced in January.
Mahowald, who graduated from SCSU with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education, teaches 5th-grade elementary education teacher at Hillcrest Community School within Bloomington Public Schools. Neaderhiser, who graduated from SCSU with a bachelor’s degree in Special Education, teaches 7th-9th grade English, reading and social skills at Jackson Middle School within Anoka Hennepin Schools. Schulte, who graduated from SCSU with a bachelor’s degree in Technology Education and a Master’s degree in Environmental and Technological Studies, teaches 9th-12th grade technology education at Sartell High School within the Sartell-St. Stephen School District 748.
This year’s program will name the 59th 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 21 community leaders will review semifinalists’ portfolios and video submissions before narrowing the list to a group of 10-12 finalists in mid-March. The 2022 Minnesota Teacher of the Year, SCSU alumna Sara Lancaster ’13, will announce her successor at the annual Minnesota Teacher of the Year banquet on May 7 at the St. Paul RiverCentre.
