Newsletters 2018-19 Focus newsletter, [4] Spring | Page 4

LEADERSHIP IN PUBLIC EDUCATION
Staff recognized at Above &
Coon Rapids High
School teacher earns
Beyond Awards ceremony
PAGE 4
DECA lifetime
achievement award
Blake Bodenburg has
been providing students
opportunities to explore
careers in marketing,
management, hospitality
and finance through
DECA for 20 years. He
launched the DECA
program for grades 9
and 10 at Anoka High School (AHS) and now
is the DECA advisor at Coon Rapids High
School - Center for Biomedical Sciences and
Engineering (CRHS).
Bodenburg was recognized at the
Minnesota DECA State Career Development
Conference in March for his guidance as a
teacher and advisor, and ongoing dedication
to the program. He received the Honorary Life
Membership Award which is presented in
honor of one’s dedication to vocational edu-
cation and service to DECA. It’s considered
the highest honor given by Minnesota DECA.
When asked what it meant to earn this
award, Bodenburg was quick to turn the
attention to his students, who he says are the
reason he was honored.
“It takes having a lifetime of great stu-
dents,” Bodenburg said. “I have already been
blessed in having a career’s worth of amazing
students and this award is truly amazing
because of them.”
Bodenburg currently serves on the
Minnesota DECA state board of directors as
the treasurer and from 2015 to 2018, he
served as the president of Minnesota DECA.
DECA provides students opportunities to
learn more about a career in business, leader-
ship, and community. They compete at the
district, state and international levels and work
with local businesses and chambers of com-
merce, learning to implement and expand job
and financial readiness, and to participate in
entrepreneurship programs. n
Minnesota principals
select Dr. Amy Reed
as top performer
Dr. Amy Reed,
principal at Ramsey
Elementary School, was
awarded the Minnesota
Elementary School
Principals’ Association
(MESPA) North
Suburban Division
Leadership award, one
of 12 honored principals from throughout
the state.
Reed earned the award for her work in
Anoka-Hennepin, demonstrating school and
district leadership in her role as principal at
Eisenhower and Ramsey elementary schools.
Reed strives to positively impact teacher
performance and student productivity and
independence, creating a school culture that
is centered on continuous improvement.
Reed is next in line to serve as president of
the MESPA North Suburban Division. n
Anoka-Hennepin staff presented Above & Beyond awards in 2019 include (front row, left to right) Jodi Schmitt, Holly Clark,
Crystal Scott, Brenda McNallan, Frank Butterfield, Deborah N. Hedrington, Vivienne Williamson, Molly Thomson (second row)
Scott M. Zachman, David Christensen, John Keran, Stephen Landry, Tara Hoffman, and Jennifer Lawrence.
• Frank Butterfield and Deborah N. Hedrington, special
education teachers at Sand Creek Elementary School.
• David Christensen, English teacher at Blaine High
School.
• Holly Clark, English teacher at Northdale Middle School.
Over 200 employees were nominated for
Above & Beyond Awards in 2019, making
this year one of the most challenging to cre-
ate the final list of awardees. At the annual
Above & Beyond Awards ceremony April 3,
Anoka-Hennepin recognized 13 staff mem-
bers or groups who have demonstrated a
remarkable dedication to fulfill the district’s
mission of preparing students for life.
The Anoka-Hennepin Educational
Foundation (AHEF) and the Anoka-Hennepin
School District sponsor the Above & Beyond
Awards program jointly. Its mission is to
recognize outstanding employees for innova-
tion, creativity, caring and commitment.
Award recipients were nominated by parents,
students and colleagues and were selected
by a panel of community representatives,
principals and staff. n
For a full story on each winner visit the
district website at ahschools.us
• Tara Hoffman, social studies teacher at Anoka High
School.
• John Keran, fifth grade teacher at Rum River River
Elementary School.
• Stephen Landry, math teacher at Andover High School.
• Jennifer Lawrence, school social worker at Wilson
Elementary School.
• Brenda McNallan, special education teacher at
Roosevelt Middle School.
• Jodi Schmitt, English teacher at Anoka Middle School
for the Arts - Washington campus.
• Crystal Scott, career and technical teacher at Secondary
Technical Education Program (STEP).
• Molly Thomson, special education paraeducator at
Jefferson Elementary School.
• Vivienne Williamson, security paraeducator at Anoka
High School.
• Scott M. Zachmann, fourth grade teacher at Johnsville
Elementary School.
Anoka-Hennepin educators earn
nominations for Minnesota Teacher
of the Year
The teachers:
Excellence in the classroom by Anoka-
Hennepin educators was recognized through
the nomination of 14 candidates for
Education Minnesota’s Teacher of the Year
Award, including Blaine High School (BHS)
science teacher Timothy Riordan who
advanced to be one of nine finalists for
the honor.
Riordan was selected from a group of 40
semifinalists by an independent selection
panel of 24 leaders in the areas of education,
business, government and nonprofits. Cindy
Houle, third grade teacher at University
Avenue Elementary School - Aerospace,
Children’s Engineering and Science, also
advanced to semifinalist status.
In total, 14 Anoka-Hennepin teachers
were among the 168 Teacher of the Year
candidates statewide, the third-most in the
55 year history of the award.
• Ericka Ableiter, English, Blaine High School.
• Jessica Bomstad Young, English, Blaine High School.
• David Christensen, English, Blaine High School.
• Lynn Florman, special education, Blaine High School.
• Cindy Houle, third grade, University Avenue Elementary
School - Aerospace, Children’s Engineering and Science.
• Stacy Johnson, fifth grade, Crooked Lake Elementary School.
• Adriann Kell, math, Blaine High School.
• Amy Kinney, English, Blaine High School.
• Taylor Melius-Polzin, sixth grade English, Jackson Middle
School - A Specialty School for Math and Science.
• Jaclyn Mingo, special education, Jackson Middle School -
A Specialty School for Math and Science.
• Chelsea Regan, third grade, Monroe Elementary School -
Mathematics, Science and Children’s Engineering.
• Timothy Riordan, science, Blaine High School.
• Brett Theisen, chemistry, Blaine High School.
• Justine Wewers, social studies, Blaine High School. n