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Teacher with Sleepy Eye roots wins state award

Former BL-H teacher now at Cannon Falls

Heather Loeschke

CANNON FALLS — A Cannon Falls High School teacher with Sleepy Eye roots will receive the Minnesota Council for Social Studies (MCSS) High School Teacher of the Year Award in Mankato Feb. 26.

Heather Loeschke, the daughter of Bev and Don “Pudge” Mickelson of Sleepy Eye, will receive the award to formally recognize her excellence and contributions to Social Studies education.

Nominated for the award by colleagues, supervisors, parents and students, Loeschke said she was notified a few weeks ago that she was nominated for the award and was asked to submit her resume, lesson plan, two letters of recommendation and her teaching philosophy. She was notified she will receive the high school level Teacher of the Year award Jan. 17.

Loeschke detailed her teaching philosophy.

“I wanted to be a teacher because I thoroughly enjoyed high school. I had great teachers who inspired me to pursue an educational career,” Loeschke said. “I believe education is a life-long learning process that never ends. I am happy to say I’m only in the middle of my educational pursuits.”

A 1992 Sleepy Eye High School graduate, Loeschke graduated from Southwest State University in Marshall in 1996 with a History degree and licensure in social studies education.

In 2004, she earned a Masters of Education from Saint Mary’s University in Winona in 2004. In 2010, she was awarded the James Madison Memorial Fellowship that granted her $24,000 to earn a Masters of American History and Government degree from Ashland University, Ashland, Oh. in 2014.

At Cannon Falls High School, Loeschke teaches 9th grade Civics, 10th grade Advanced Placement U.S. History and 12th grade Advanced Placement U.S. Government & Politics.

In addition to classroom duties, she is the Cannon Falls High School “We the People” coach. We the People is an academic curriculum and a competition on the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and our nation’s founding democratic principles.

Since 2008, Loeschke’s classes have won five Minnesota state championships, five state runner-up titles and have represented Minnesota at the national We the People competition in Washington, D.C. five times.

A day after receiving the award, Loeschke is invited to participate in a Best Teaching Practices in Social Studies panel presentation with several other award-winning teachers.

Loeschke will get the chance to share some of her favorite practices and resources plus talk to other teachers about teaching social studies.

In addition, Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie S. Gildea will present a keynote address related to the conference theme.

(Fritz Busch can be e-mailed at fbusch@nujournal.com).

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