by Dennis Dalman
A Sartell second-grade teacher, Nicole Fuechtmann, was nominated for the 60th annual Minnesota Teacher of the Year Award, which will be announced at a banquet May 5 at the St. Paul RiverCentre.
For 16 years, Fuechtmann has taught at Pine Meadow Elementary School and still loves her job as much as the day she started.
She was stunned to hear she’d been nominated for Minnesota Teacher of the Year.
“It was a big honor,” she said. “Very surprising. Not expected.”
But she was quick to add that an individual’s teaching is very dependent on good, interconnected teamwork, and she was happy to give all of those fellow teachers credit for her recognition.
“The team of teachers I work with is a big part of who I am,” she said. “It can’t be just on my own. Teaching really is a team effort.”
Fuechtmann was nominated for the award by Cathy Bergeron, a paraprofessional who worked with her in her classroom last year.
Fuechtmann was born and raised in Little Falls, the daughter of Carol and Brad Wallace. She has a younger sister and brother. When she was in fourth grade, she knew exactly what she wanted to do someday when she grew up: teach school. Her teacher, Lori Dahlman, was a constant inspiration and role model.
“She’s fantastic!” Fuechtmann said. “And she still teaches in Little Falls. I still run into her from time to time.”
Fuechtmann still lives in her hometown of Little Falls, not too far from her family home. She and her high-school sweetheart, Travis Fuechtmann, have been married for 17 years; they have three children – Kade, 14; Bryn, 12; and Vivian, 9.
After graduating from Little Falls High School, Nicole Wallace earned a bachelor’s degree at Moorhead State University, then went on to earn a master’s degree (elementary-education licensure) at Southwest State University in Marshall.
Her husband Travis works in construction management for commercial buildings.
Just before the beginning of each school year, Fuechtmann becomes eager and filled with anticipatory excitement to meet her class of new students.
“I so enjoy meeting those kids for the first time,” she said in an interview with the Newsleaders. “I enjoy their little personalities and each one has a special personality.”
One of her favorite subjects to teach is writing.
“It gives kids freedom to share their ideas and to express themselves,” she said. “They get so excited to express themselves and to share with others.”
She has 23 kids in this year’s class.
When Fuechtmann was growing up, she loved playing softball and soccer, and her soccer skills came in handy years later as she now coaches daughter Bryn’s U-12 soccer team in Little Falls Mary of Lourdes School. She also serves as a team manager for son Kade’s hockey team. And youngest daughter Vivian won’t be long left out of her mother’s sports’ attention because next year she will help out when Vivian begins her traveling soccer team.
There are 159 nominated candidates for the 2024 Minnesota Teacher of the Year Award. The list of semi-finalists will be announced sometime in February, the finalists will be revealed in March and the winner will be announce at the May 5 banquet in St. Paul.
Last year, another Sartell teacher, Joe Schulte, was one of the finalists for the award. Schulte teaches technical education at Sartell High School.
Other nominees in the Greater St. Cloud area for the 2024 award are Aaron Johnson and Rachel Mehrwerth, both of the Sauk Rapids-Rice School District; and Devin Bowker, Angela Haus and Jean Voight, all of the St. Cloud Area School District.
Nicole Fuechtmann
