Two Hamline University alumnae are finalists for the 2026 Minnesota Teacher of the Year award. They were selected out of 128 candidates statewide.
The Minnesota Teacher of the Year program annually selects one exceptional educator to represent the state. This individual is recognized for their excellence in the classroom and their ability to serve as a public advocate for the teaching profession. The winner will be announced on May 3, 2026.
Amy Phung '11, a kindergarten teacher at Meadowbrook Elementary School in Golden Valley, and Sher Unruh-Friesen '06, a K-6 special education teacher at Glen Lake Elementary School in Minnetonka, both in Hopkins Public Schools, are among 11 finalists this year. Both earned their master’s degrees in education from Hamline.
Phung said she first began thinking about becoming a teacher in elementary school. This idea became more concrete in ninth grade, when a teacher, now an assistant superintendent at Hopkins Public Schools, encouraged her to explore teaching in practice. That encouragement led Phung to teach figure skating as a teenager, an experience she said confirmed her interest in education and working with others.
“Throughout my whole life, I just really love teaching people things. So it's just kind of who I am,” Phung said.
With a teaching career spanning two decades, she began in Chicago, where she taught for two years. She then returned to Minnesota, dedicating the next 18 years to Hopkins Public Schools, including 16 years spent teaching in elementary classrooms.
For Phung, teaching has always been about continuous learning, especially learning how to better serve students from diverse backgrounds.
“Anytime you learn more, you become better,” she said. “I had a focus on urban education, and being able to learn more about what an urban child needs is essential for where I’m at. So, getting those strategies and more diversity and equity training is really important.”
Teaching, for Phung, is about connecting with her students, especially her kindergarteners, where helping them read and building relationships brings added meaning to her work.
“It’s cliche, but it's the kids,” she said. “I love their energy, and I feel teaching a child something new is just the most exciting thing.”
Both Unruh-Friesen and Phung have built teaching careers centered on supporting and creating inclusive classrooms.
In Kindergarten, Unruh-Friesen was diagnosed with Legg-Perthes disease and had to wear leg braces with built-in orthopedic shoes. She knows what it’s like to have people see a disability before they see the person.
Because of her experiences being disabled, Unruh-Friesen realized her purpose is to teach children with severe disabilities and help the world see their worth.
She has been an elementary special education teacher for 31 years, and her graduate experience at Hamline continues to shape her teaching approach.
“One of the go-to teaching tools that I use daily was something I learned during my 2006 Hamline master’s cohort - the art of reflection,” Unruh-Friesen said.
She said reflection means constantly unpacking her teaching, working with staff, and reviewing her communication and instruction to improve learning.
“I teach children to see themselves in each other and to understand disabilities. Not only do students learn not to be afraid of disabilities, they learn not to be ashamed of disabilities,” Unruh-Friesen said.
Her teaching is centered around building a culture of inclusion where students learn to understand and support one another.
Both educators said being named a finalist was surreal.
Phung said, “I don't know if I'll win, but to be this close and to be with these amazing educators, it's mind boggling to me.”
“I don’t take myself seriously, but I do take my students and my job extremely seriously,” Unruh-Friesen said. “I realized the program would help me work towards one of my personal and professional goals: To put students with significant disabilities in the spotlight and teach the world their worth.