JUNEAU – Tuesday the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development announced four teachers as finalists for the 2024 Alaska Teacher of the Year: Catherine Walker (Anchorage School District), Jennifer Reinhart (Kenai Peninsula Borough School District), Megan Henry (Anchorage School District), and Michelle Heminger (Fairbanks North Star Borough School District).

The finalists went through three rounds of evaluation by committees which included interviews, personal essays, sample lessons, classroom/direct teaching recordings, and letters of recommendation.

The Alaska Teacher of the Year and an alternate will be announced before the end of this school year. The selected teacher will serve as Alaska’s nominee for the National Teacher of the Year and will be able to participate in programs and activities with other State Teachers of the Year coordinated by the Council of Chief State School Officers.

“Congratulations to our four finalists for Alaska’s Teacher of the Year and those who were selected by their peers for this special recognition,” said Acting Commissioner Heidi Teshner. “These four teachers are a testament to the teaching profession and deserve recognition for the impact they are making in the classroom and in their school communities. Thank you for choosing to be a public school teacher in Alaska and for all you do to help our students be successful.”

Catherine Walker currently teaches Engineering Essentials, Unmanned Aviation Science, Oceanography, Marine Biology, and has been teaching Biology and 9th-grade science at Dimond High School in Anchorage since 2017. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts and a Master of Arts in Teaching at the University of Alaska in Anchorage, Alaska.

Jennifer Reinhart is a first-grade teacher and has been an elementary teacher at Paul Banks Elementary in Homer, Alaska since 2008. Jennifer earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology at the University of Alaska in Anchorage and a Master of Arts in Teaching at the University of Alaska Southeast in Juneau, Alaska.

Megan Henry has taught in the Anchorage School District since 2014. During that time, she taught art in elementary and secondary schools. She is currently at West High School and her classes include Art Studio, Drawing & Design, Multimedia Design, Painting, and Printmaking. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Art Education at Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and a Master of Arts in Teaching and Learning at the University of Alaska in Anchorage, Alaska.

Michelle Heminger teaches math and science at Barnette Magnet School in Fairbanks North Star Borough School District (FNSBSD). She has been a FNSBSD teacher since 2011 and has taught in the Bering Strait School District and Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District as well. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Education from Bowling Green State University and holds a Master of Science in Special Education K-12 from Western Governors University.

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