CEHD alum Rademacher wins Minnesota Teacher of the Year

Curriculum and Instruction graduate Thomas Rademacher (M.Ed. ’07) has been named 2014 Minnesota Teacher of the Year. Rademacher teaches English at the Fine Arts Interdisciplinary Resources (FAIR) School in Minneapolis and Crystal. Education Minnesota, the 70,000 member teachers’ union, underwrites the award, which is open to all prekindergarten through 12th-grade teachers in Minnesota’s public, private, and parochial schools.

According to coverage by the Star Tribune, “[Rademacher] said his message as a teacher ambassador in the coming year will be cooperating with anyone interested in education to make it better. He said he learned from a staff shake-up in his West Metro program a few years ago. It created a division within fellow teachers that he tried to heal by inviting 10 teachers with differing opinions to his home for enchiladas.”

“Rademacher is known at FAIR for his unwavering commitment to students,” according to Education Minnesota. This year, 128 candidates were nominated by peers and students, among others. Winners receive a $6,000 prize, and go on to the national competition. Minnesota has produced four National Teachers of the Year, more than any other state, except California. The Minnesota Teacher of the Year program is the longest running recognition program in Minnesota to honor excellence in education.

“Mr. Rademacher will do anything in his power to help his students succeed,” said student Asyana Eddy in the Star Tribune story. “He gives us the freedom to approach his subjects in the most creative ways possible, he teaches us that our thoughts matter, and that we are capable of anything we want to do with our lives.”

Rademacher is the second teacher from one of CEHD’s teacher education programs to win Teacher of the Year in the last 5 years. In 2009, alumna Amber Damm won the honor for her work at the Clara Barton Open School in Minneapolis.

Visit the CEHD People section to read Amber Damm’s profile. Visit the Star Tribune’s website to read the full article on Rademacher’s award, “Minneapolis English teacher named Minnesota Teacher of the Year.” And, please visit Teach.umn.edu to learn more about earning your teaching license at the University of Minnesota.