Eden Prairie teacher wins state’s top honor

Linda Wallenberg, a longtime English teacher at Eden Prairie High School, has been named the 2025 Minnesota Teacher of the Year.

Wallenberg – known to generations of students simply as “Wally” – is in her 49th year of teaching. She is the first educator from Eden Prairie Schools to receive the state’s top teaching honor. The announcement was made Sunday, May 4, during a ceremony organized by Education Minnesota.

An independent selection committee made up of leaders in education, business and government chooses the award recipient from a group of nominees who opt in to the process. Wallenberg is the 61st teacher to receive the recognition since the award’s inception.

“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,” Wallenberg said in a statement released by Education Minnesota. “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.”

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Wallenberg began her career in 1976, teaching eighth-grade English in Faribault. She joined Eden Prairie High School in 1977 and has remained ever since. Along the way, she also taught Swedish and coached the high school gymnastics team to a 150-7 record and two national titles. She was twice named National Gymnastics Coach of the Year and was inducted into the Minnesota Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2005.

She earned a degree in English and Scandinavian studies from Gustavus Adolphus College in 1975, after studying abroad at Uppsala University in Sweden. Wallenberg later became the first certified Swedish teacher in Minnesota and earned a master’s in English education from the University of Minnesota. She has taught in Canterbury, England, and for 42 summers has served as a teacher and director at Concordia College’s Swedish Language Village.

In 1988, Wallenberg received the Royal Order of the Polar Star from His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden for her work in Swedish language education. She is also the author of two books: “Fundamental Gymnastics” and “Play-By-Play Gymnastics.”

Many of her former students have gone on to be professional writers, athletes, and teachers. In the past five years alone, at least three Minnesota Teacher of the Year finalists have cited Wallenberg as their inspiration.

“Before meeting ‘Wally,’ I did not understand what true, unbridled devotion looked like,” wrote 2024 Eden Prairie graduate Sophia Yoerks in a recommendation letter included with Wallenberg’s nomination. “Not only does she teach impactful and informative material, but she also finds countless ways to connect both herself and her students with it. Even though I have known her for almost five years, she still continues to amaze me.”

As noted in a December 2023 Eden Prairie Local News profile, Wallenberg’s “AP Lit” course is often dubbed “AP Life” by students for its blend of literary analysis and life lessons. She is known for coordinating her wardrobe with literary works, for weaving student perspectives into her heavily annotated copy of “Hamlet,” and for creating what fellow teacher Sara Stein called “a sacred space” for students to find their voice.

“Linda is a whirlwind of energy, indefatigable and full of love and curiosity for and about her students and the world,” Stein said in the 2023 article.

Over the years, Wallenberg has been named Eden Prairie Teacher of the Year three times. She was previously a finalist for the Minnesota Teacher of the Year honor in 2005.

Wallenberg said her proudest accomplishment is the number of students she’s inspired to go into education. “We have so many opportunities here to do this thing together, link arm in arm,” she said in the 2023 story.

The Minnesota Teacher of the Year program is organized and underwritten by Education Minnesota, the statewide educators union. It is also supported by Aviben, Education Minnesota ESI, Educators Lifetime Solutions, EFS Advisors, the Harvard Club of Minnesota Foundation, Tradition Mortgage and Expedition Credit Union.