Eden Prairie high school English teacher Linda Wallenberg has been named the 2025 Minnesota Teacher of the Year.
Wallenberg is now in her 49th year of teaching and has been a finalist for the award twice, including this year and back in 2005.
The award was given out Sunday during a banquet and ceremony at the St. Paul Rivercentre.
She is the first Eden Prairie school district teacher to win the award, now in its 61st year.
“Teaching is about the journey – the opportunity every fall and every single day to begin anew, to guide students along their own journeys, to build people, not just scholars,” said Wallenberg, affectionately known as "Wally."
“I believe teaching is a calling of love, an awakening of sorts – creating a sacred space where students can feel seen, believe in themselves, and trust their own authentic voices to take them out to the world,” she said.
Wallenberger started her teaching career as an English teacher in Faribault's junior high school.
After more than a year, she went to Eden Prairie.
Wallenberg is from Chicago and graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter in 1975.
She also has a master’s degree in English education from the University of Minnesota.
The recipient of Education Minnesota's Teacher of the Year award is chosen by a selection committee of education, business, and government leaders.