Submitted by Robert Hopwood, Delan Hearld Journal 

Second grade teacher Theressa Swan earned Delano Public Schools’ Teacher of the Year award after colleagues nominated and voted for her, an honor she said left her grateful for the recognition of her work in the classroom.

Swan was nominated in October by speech pathologist Sarah Bersie and selected from a group of six or seven nominees. Teachers cast their votes in November, and Swan learned then that she had been chosen.

The award does not include a financial prize. She will be recognized at the district’s end-of-year breakfast, where she will give a speech, and will be honored again at a Resource Training & Solutions ceremony next fall.

She is still deciding whether to pursue the Minnesota Teacher of the Year process, for which she is automatically nominated by the teachers union. She said the application requires recommendations, essays and a commitment to attend statewide events.

She said she is unsure she can take on the additional obligations, especially with her daughter getting married in the fall.

Swan has been a teacher since 1994. She began her career in Plainview, near Rochester, where her fifth grade teacher, then a principal, helped her secure her first job during a time when teaching positions were scarce.

She taught sixth grade in Plainview for two years before moving to Delano, where she taught fifth and sixth grade for about a decade before transitioning to second grade.

She said teaching in Delano feels a little like working in wonderland because everyone works hard and cares for the kids. She said the teachers want to have fun with the students.

“The teachers here just do the most,” she said. “They’re just the most.”

Swan estimates she has spent about 15 years teaching second graders and said she loves the age group. She teaches 23 students this year and described them as “sweeties” who are “just fun” and “excited” about learning.

“I’ve just really found my groove in second grade,” she said.

She said her favorite thing about teaching is the energy her students bring to her day. She said the job “could not possibly be boring.”

“I love teaching,” she said. “I’ve been here a long time.”

Her teaching philosophy centers on high expectations, building students’ confidence and encouraging them to achieve. She said her students rise to the bar that’s set for them, and when it’s set higher they push themselves to reach it.

“I like to say to my students, you can do hard things,” she said.

Daily responsibilities such as changing the schedule or passing out name tags give them a sense of independence and pride.

Swan grew up in Princeton as the oldest daughter in a family of seven children. She said she knew from an early age that she wanted to be a teacher and carried that certainty through college at St. Cloud State.

“I just knew I was going to be a teacher,” she said. “I just said that all the time. I wasn’t wrong. It was a good choice for me.”

She lives in Rogers, north of Maple Grove, with her husband and has two adult children, a daughter and a son. She said they took her to a Christmas pop-up bar over Thanksgiving weekend to celebrate her winning Teacher of the Year.

Swan said the classroom has shifted significantly since she began teaching. Earlier instruction was more teacher-directed. Now she builds lessons around student interests and their background knowledge.
She said technology and the way students access information have changed, but the children themselves have not. They want to learn, have fun and feel safe.

She said the social growth of second graders is also one of the most important parts of her job. Students at this age are learning how to be friends, how to solve day-to-day problems and how to manage increasing responsibility.

She said her confidence-building message — you can do hard things — is as important for personal development as it is for academics.

“Helping them grow as a person, yes, it’s a big part of an elementary teacher’s job,” Swan said.

Her longevity in the district has allowed her to see former students return as high school aides in her classroom and graduate. She has even taught the children of some of her former students.

Swan said Bersie highlighted her leadership roles when she nominated her for Teacher of the Year.
Swan serves as the lead peer coach for her second grade team in the Q Comp program and is a coordinator for the mentorship program where she mentors new teachers in the district.

She also is a member of the Student Success Team and has served on the school’s site-based team, where she meets with administrators, teachers, paraprofessionals and parents.

Swan said all of her leadership roles were voluntary and she chooses to take them on because it’s a way to help the school by leading where she can.

“It is kind of a big deal,” Bobbie Dahlke, director of communications, said about Swan’s leadership positions.

Dahlke said the groups Swan serves on focus on student learning and academics, raising expectations and improving success, as well as supporting students’ social and emotional needs.

Swan added that the work includes looking at student data and considering what can be improved.
Swan said she was “sort of embarrassed” when she learned she had been nominated for Teacher of the Year and was “shocked” when she won. She said she didn’t want to tell anybody because she doesn’t need accolades.

“Anybody could have been nominated, that’s kind of how I felt,” Swan said. “I feel very honored, and I will accept that.”

“I just think that anyone could have the same award because it’s just such a great place to work,” she continued.

Swan said she didn’t want the attention to fall solely on her because the whole second grade team supports and lifts one another up, and she wanted the recognition to honor everyone, not just her.

“I would not be able to do my job very well without really good coworkers,” she said.

Still, she said being nominated and voted for by the people who know her best was very special.
“I feel it as a big honor that they would recognize me,” she said.

Swan said her students were “very excited” for her when she told them she had been named Teacher of the Year.

“I’ve gotten lots of hugs about it,” she said.