For more information, contact:
Doug Dooher
651-292-4820 (work)
651-245-6141 (cell)

Chris Williams
651-292-4816 (work)
651-247-5539 (cell)

ST. PAUL, Minn., April 28, 2015 – The new Minnesota Teacher of the Year will be named Sunday, May 3. The Radisson Blu Mall of America hosts this year’s Teacher of the Year banquet. Tom Rademacher of the West Metro Education Program, the current Minnesota Teacher of the Year, will announce his successor at the banquet. This is the 51st year for the program. Minnesota has produced four National Teachers of the Year, more than any state except California.

The banquet takes place from 1 to 3 p.m. in the Radisson Blu’s Lakes ballrooms. The announcement of the new Teacher of the Year should take place around 2:30 p.m. Reporters are advised to arrive by 2 p.m. The new Teacher of the Year will be available for interviews on-site immediately following the banquet May 3 and during the day May 4. The Radisson Blu Mall of America is located at 2100 Killebrew Dr., Bloomington, MN 55425. Banquet tickets may still be available by contacting Kieren Steinhoff at 651-292-4865.

The 2015 Minnesota Teacher of the Year will come from a field of 10 finalists. There were 123 candidates in this year’s original field. This year’s finalists are:

• Erik Brandt, Harding Senior High School, St. Paul, English and IB program coordinator, grades 9-12
• Melinda Christianson, Underwood School, Underwood, English, grades 10-12
• Stephen Dombrosk, North High School, North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale, world history, grade 10
• Amy Hewett-Olatunde, LEAP High School, St. Paul, ESL, grades 9-12
• Lanka Liyanapathiranage, Woodbury Middle School, South Washington County, language arts, grade 7
• Kathryn Oberg, Otsego Elementary School, Elk River, elementary, grade 1
• Terrence Price, The Mastery Charter School, Minneapolis, elementary, grade 3
• Ann St. Clair, Sonnesyn Elementary School, Robbinsdale, ELL, grades kindergarten-2
• Rachel Steil,  Stillwater Area High School, Stillwater, English, grades 10-12
• Meggie Trenda, Edina High School, Edina, Spanish, grades 10-12

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: Education Minnesota ESI, Educators Lifetime Solutions, EFS Advisors, the Harvard Club of Minnesota Foundation, McDonald’s Restaurants of Minnesota, the Radisson Blu Mall of America, The SMARTer Kids Foundation, TruStone Financial and United Educators Credit Union.