Northfield's Bakke Semifinalist for Teacher of the Year

Northfield's Deborah Bakke is one of 39 semifinalists for this year’s Minnesota Teacher of the Year honor has been narrowed to 39 semifinalists. 

Bakke is a first-grade teacher at Greenvale Park Elementary.

A selection panel of 25 community leaders chose the semifinalists from an initial field of 135 candidates from across the state.  

The panel will meet again in late March to select about 10 finalists from the group of semifinalists. The current Minnesota Teacher of the Year, Jackie Roehl of Edina, will announce her successor at a banquet at the Marriott Minneapolis Northwest in Brooklyn Park on May 5. 

Education Minnesota, the 70,000-member statewide educators’ union, organizes and underwrites the Teacher of the Year program. Candidates include pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade teachers from public or private schools. The Minnesota Teacher of the Year Program also receives support from the following organizations: The SMARTer Kids Foundation, the Marriott Minneapolis Northwest, the Harvard Club of Minnesota Foundation, United Educators Credit Union, McDonald’s Restaurants of Minnesota, Teacher Federal Credit Union, Pearson Education and Education Minnesota ESI. 

Semifinalists for 2013 Minnesota Teacher of the Year, listed by district, are:

District, Name, Subject area, School, Grade level

• Anoka-Hennepin, Ross Eichele, English Language Arts, Public Speaking and Debate, Blaine High School, 9-12
• Anoka-Hennepin, Amy Reed, Professional Development, Coaching and Student Interventions, Rum River Elementary School, K-5
• Austin, Aaron Stromlund, Special Education – ASD, Ellis Middle School, 6-8
• Battle Lake, Tom Leuthner, Industrial Technology, Battle Lake Public School, 7-12
• Bloomington, Murray McCartan, Functional Life Skills, Bloomington Jefferson High School , 9-12
• Brooklyn Center, Beth Schultz, Elementary, Earle Brown IB World School, Kindergarten
• Burnsville-Eagan-Savage, Sharon Shelerud, Human Geography, Metcalf Junior High School, 9
• Columbia Heights, Stan Mraz, Science, North Park Elementary School, 3-5
• Dassel-Cokato, Paul Beckermann, Media and Digital Learning Specialist, Dassel-Cokato High School, 9-12
• Delano, Jim VanCura, Language Arts, Delano High School, 11-12
• Elk River, Ron Hustvedt Jr., Social Studies, Salk Middle School, 6-8
• Fergus Falls, Marsha Talley, Mathematics, Fergus Falls High School, 9-12
• Frazee-Vergas, James Jacobson, Mathematics, Frazee High School, 9-12
• Hastings, Laura Zabel, Mathematics, Hastings High School, 9-12
• Mahtomedi, Paul Christensen, Language Arts, Mathematics, Mahtomedi High School, 9-12
• Minneapolis, Daniel Kilibarda, Elementary, Burroughs Community School, 3
• Minneapolis, Joyce Lasser, Elementary, Burroughs Community School, 1
• Minneapolis, Stacy Moreno, Special Education – Autism, Kenny Community School, Elementary
• Minneapolis, Amy Lynn Sinness, Elementary, Luce Craft Laney School, 1
• Minnesota Correctional Facility — Lino Lakes, Katherine Wolverton-Maki, Language Arts, Minnesota Correctional Facility - Lino Lakes, 2-12
• Morris, Kevin Pope, Science, Physics, Morris Area High School, 7, 11-12
• Mounds View, Simone Haugen, Elementary, Turtle Lake Elementary School, 5
• North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale, Barbara Halbrehder, Physical Education, Tartan High School, 9-12
• Northfield, Deborah Bakke, Elementary, Greenvale Park Elementary, 1
• Perham, Lance Rach, Elementary, Heart of Lakes Elementary School, 4
• Pillager, Karl Kaufmann, Biology, Forestry, Pillager Public School, 9-12
• Prior Lake-Savage, Tom Deris, Elementary, Glendale Elementary School, 2
• Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan, Steven Albaugh, Choral Music, Rosemount High School, 9-12
• Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan, Dr. Thomas Scott, Social Studies, Political Science, Rosemount High School, 9, 11-12
• Shakopee, Edward Loiselle, Social Studies, Shakopee High School, 11-12
• Shakopee, Amanda Marek, English/Spanish for Native Speakers, Shakopee West Junior High School, 8-9
• Sibley East, Amanda Feterl, Art, Sibley East Elementary School, K-6
• St. Louis Park, Meredith Homans, Language Arts, St. Louis Park Middle School, 6
• St. Louis Park, Arika Mareck, English, St. Louis Park High School, 12
• St. Paul, Erik Brandt, English, IB Coordinator, Harding High School, 9-12
• St. Paul, Stephanie Erickson, Environmental Science, Washington Technology Magnet School, 9
• St. Paul, Megan Olivia Hall, Biology, Open World Learning Community School, 7-12
• St. Paul, Peter Hanson, Elementary, J.J. Hill Montessori Magnet School, 1-3
• St. Paul, David Howard, American History, Capitol Hill Gifted and Talented Magnet School, 7