Johnson Meets with South Dakota Teachers of the Year

Washington, D.C. – Today, Representative Johnson met with Amanda Harris of Harrisburg and Amanda Hargreaves of Mitchell, the 2020 and 2021 South Dakota Teachers of the Year. Harris and Hargreaves are visiting Washington for the Council of Chief State School Officers National Teacher of the Year Program D.C. Advocacy Day. During their meeting with Johnson they discussed education policy issues facing South Dakota's teachers.

"Amanda Harris and Amanda Hargreaves are examples of what a teacher should be," said Johnson. "They are caring, kind, driven, and put their students first. I was grateful for the chance to sit down with them in Washington today – they represent our state well and gave me great hope for the future of education in South Dakota."

Harris, the 2020 South Dakota Teacher of the Year, is a fourth-grade teacher at Endeavor Elementary in Harrisburg, South Dakota. She ran for teacher of the year on a platform of looking for the good in students and in our state. She has started several afterschool programs in the Harrisburg School District and is a previous recipient of the SDEA/NEA Educational Innovation Grant. You can read more about her here.

Hargreaves, the 2021 South Dakota Teacher of the Year, is a teacher at Mitchell Middle School. She previously taught at Longfellow Elementary in Mitchell. She helped develop an anti-bullying program in her time at Longfellow and has stepped up to serve on the Principal's Cabinet Leadership Team at Mitchell Middle School. You can read more about her here.

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