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Abdul Wright, who teaches eighth-grade language arts at The Best Academy in Minneapolis, is the 2016 Minnesota Teacher of the Year.
He is the 52nd recipient of the prestigious award, and the first-ever charter school teacher, Education Minnesota announced.
An independent selection committee representing Minnesota leaders in education, business and government chooses the Minnesota Teacher of the Year from individuals who are nominated and who then choose to become a candidate.
“Respect is at the center of my values and beliefs as an educator,” Wright said. “I try to teach my students that we have to be a model of excellence for the community we want, not the community we see.”
“Mr. Wright embodies what it means to be a transformational teacher,” said Meghan Roegge, in her nomination letter for Wright. “He impacts and changes lives every day that he comes to work.”
Wright has taught at Best Academy since 2012. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Concordia University in St. Paul and will receive his master’s degree in education from Hamline University this spring.
Education Minnesota, the 86,000-member statewide educators union, organizes and underwrites the Teacher of the Year program. Candidates include pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade teachers from public or private schools. The Minnesota Teacher of the Year Program also receives support from the following organizations: The Radisson Blu Mall of America, the Harvard Club of Minnesota Foundation, United Educators Credit Union, McDonald’s Restaurants of Minnesota, Educators Lifetime Solutions, EFS Advisors and Education Minnesota ESI.