Posted: 2/13/07
Middle school teacher nominated for MN Teacher of the Year
By Andrew Miller
Interim News Editor
Modesty is among Carol Nelsonís virtues.
Nelson says sheíd prefer not to make too big a deal out of her recent award nomination.
But the fact of the matter is she was nominated for the most prestigious honor accorded to teachers in the state.
Nelson, a resource teacher at Caledonia Middle School, was in the running for the 2007 Minnesota Teacher of the Year award.
The nomination stemmed from an award she received last year at the local level. Last May, Nelson was named Teacher of the Year by the Caledonia Education Association.
To Nelson, the local award far outshines the nomination for Minnesota Teacher of the Year.
"That was very rewarding to be recognized by my peers, because I think they know my work better than anyone else," she said.
Nelson started teaching in Caledonia Area Schools a little more than a decade ago, first at the elementary school, then at the high school and middle school. As a resource teacher, she works with students with learning disabilities.
Caledonia Middle School Principal Brian Doty said the nomination couldnít have gone to a more deserving teacher.
"She has compassion, she has capability, and she adapts to each situation," he said. "She leaves students with a sense that there is opportunity, there is hope, and there is a future, and she helps them arrive at that."
Nelson, who holds a masters degree in special education from the University of St. Thomas, said she got into teaching because itís a way to positively influence peopleís lives.
Her interest in the profession was first piqued when she was a high school student in Redwood Falls, Minn.
"I realized teachers had quite a bit of impact on people ó it sounds kinda sappy, but thatís it," Nelson said.
Prior to teaching, she managed Camp Winnebago in rural Caledonia between 1985 and 1991. She left that job to take a teaching position in the Twin Cities.
Her husband, Terry, is a retired teacher, having taught for many years in the Spring Grove School District. Their daughter, Ashley, a 2004 graduate of Caledonia High School, is a student at Rochester Community and Technical College and works part-time as a nurse.
Nelson was one of 130 teachers statewide nominated for the Minnesota Teacher of the Year award. The Teacher of the Year program is organized by Education Minnesota, the 70,000-member state educatorsí association.
Candidates included pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade teachers from both public and private schools.
The nomination, Nelson said, pales in comparison to the rewards she reaps every day, seeing students traverse the academic path.
"Working with the kids, you can see the improvement, the growth and the maturity," she said.
Caledonia Argus
314 West Lincoln St.
P.O. Box 227
Caledonia, MN 55921-0227
507/724-3475
E-Mail: editor.argus@ecm-inc.com