Brainerd, Onamia educators up for Teacher of the Year

By Dispatch staff report

March 04, 2022 01:21 PM

Two lakes area teachers are semifinalists for the 2022 Minnesota Teacher of the Year.

Erin Karlgaard, a third grade teacher at Lowell Elementary School in Brainerd, and Sarah Lancaster, a first grade teacher at Onamia Elementary School, are among the 25 finalists, narrowed down from an original pool of 77 candidates.

A panel will review the semifinalists’ portfolios again and video submissions in early March and will select about 10 finalists from among the group. The current Minnesota Teacher of the Year, Natalia Benjamin, will announce her successor at the Minnesota Teacher of the Year banquet, tentatively scheduled for May 1 at the Saint Paul RiverCentre.

Education Minnesota, the statewide educators union, organizes and underwrites the Teacher of the Year program. Candidates include pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade, early childhood family education and adult basic education teachers, from public or private schools. The Minnesota Teacher of the Year Program also receives support from the following organizations: Education Minnesota ESI, Educators Lifetime Solutions, EFS Advisors, Harvard Club of Minnesota Foundation, SMART Technologies and United Educators Credit Union.

Related Topics: EDUCATION

By Dispatch staff report

Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of "staff." Often, the "staff" byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.

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Brainerd, Onamia educators up for Teacher of the Year

Erin Karlgaard, a third grade teacher at Lowell Elementary School in Brainerd, and Sarah Lancaster, a first grade teacher at Onamia Elementary School, are among the 25 finalists.