NEW ULM — On May 11, Sara Keim, daughter of Pat and Sue Keim of New Ulm and a 2004 New Ulm High School graduate, received the 2019 Terri Lynne Lokoff/Children’s TYLENOL National Child Care Teacher Award in Philadelphia, Pa.

This award acknowledges the critical role of child care teachers in providing quality early care and education. It honors outstanding child care teachers for excellence, dedication, and the incredibly important contribution they make to creating a stronger future. The Terri Lynne Lokoff Child Care Foundation (TLLCCF) has presented this award since 1994 and is the advocate in the country for supporting and elevating the status of early child care professionals. Each year, the foundation is the only organization in the country to honor child care educators nationally for their valuable work and innovative thinking. Fifty applicants are chosen to receive the award and receive $500 personal use and $500 to implement their classroom enhancement project, her project focuses on the classroom environment as a whole. Of those fifty, Sara was the only recipient from Minnesota and she was ranked in the top ten which made her a finalist for the Helene Marks Award- National Child Care Teacher of the Year.

Sara has a bachelor of science degree in early childhood education from Minnesota State University, Moorhead, and a current teaching license, and has been a teacher at Kinderberry Hill in Eden Prairie for almost 10 years. During those years she has been awarded the Teacher of Distinction Award twice, taken part on teacher panel boards, modified character building curriculum, and been a mentor to new teachers.