Edina's Hawley Mathieson and Bianca Suglia named Semifinalists for Minnesota Teacher of the Year

Two Edina Public Schools teachers are semifinalists in the 2024 Minnesota Teacher of the Year award. Hawley Mathieson and Bianca Suglia are two of 27 semifinalists.

Semifinalists were selected from a group of 159 candidates across the state, which included eight Edina Public Schools teachers. An independent panel of leaders in education, business, government, nonprofits, and philanthropy are expected to name selected finalists in April and the 60th Minnesota Teacher of the Year winner will be announced in May.

Hawley Mathieson has worked in the district for eight years and is a teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing for students across the district at Normandale, Cornelia, and Highlands Elementary Schools, along with South View Middle School, students in birth to three, and nonpublic.

“I feel humbled and honored to be nominated for Teacher of the Year. As a semifinalist, I am excited for this experience and appreciate the opportunity it has afforded me to engage in conversation with more people across the district about the role of an itinerant teacher of the deaf, accessibility, and how much I value creating relationship with students,” said Mathieson. “I appreciate Education Minnesota recognizing and celebrating educators across our state and highlighting excellence in our profession. I wish to congratulate all my fellow semifinalists being recognized for this honor.”

Bianca Suglia has worked for Edina Public Schools for 20 years as a 5th grade teacher, peer coach, and is now a 4th grade teacher at Normandale Elementary School, which is a French immersion school.

“I am honored to be recognized as one of the 27 semifinalists for the MN Teacher of the Year award as this is an opportunity for me to acknowledge the undeniable impact of teachers in shaping our students’ futures academically, culturally, and emotionally. As a multilingual and bicultural educator from Romania, Eastern Europe, I have been carving my own path personally and professionally, and I welcome any platform that allows me to refine my teaching paradigm that is rooted in being culturally and linguistically responsive to all my students while also building global competence skills in the classroom and beyond,” said Suglia. 

Education Minnesota’s teacher of the year program celebrates the tradition of excellence in teaching in Minnesota. Eligible candidates include pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, Early Childhood Family Education and Adult Basic Education teachers, from public or private schools. 

“It’s great to see Bianca and Hawley recognized for their commitment to their students,” said Normandale Elementary Principal, Chris Holden. “They bring both expertise and compassion into their teaching spaces daily.”

Read more about the award or see the full list of the 27 Minnesota semifinalists: https://educationminnesota.org/news/press-release/2024-minnesota-teacher-of-the-year-field-narrowed-to-27-semifinalists/