St. Paul’s Harding High School claims MN teacher of the year

Josh Verges, Pioneer Press
·1 min read

Amid a school year marred by violence, Harding High School got some positive news Sunday when one of its math teachers was named state teacher of the year by Education Minnesota.

Michael Houston was one of two Harding teachers — and four from St. Paul Public Schools — among the 11 finalists for the teachers union’s award; he also was a finalist in 2017.

Houston has coached football 18 of his 19 years at Harding, where he chairs the math department and is a union steward. He also is an adjunct professor at Concordia University, St. Paul, where he teaches math to aspiring elementary teachers.

“Michael is passionate about his students and works tirelessly to engage them in the study of mathematics,” former colleague and fellow teacher Kimberley Nichols wrote in Houston’s nomination. “His ability to engage all students, particularly students of color, is exceptional; partly due to his lived experiences as a teacher of color and to his determination to help all students achieve success. He meets students where they are, and inspires them to learn deeply. His passion and dedication to equity and culturally responsive instruction has made a tremendous difference in the lives of the students he works with every single day.”

In February, a Harding student stabbed and killed a classmate in a school hallway, and several students there have been caught with guns in the last two years.

Houston said his teaching philosophy “has always been centered upon creating classroom community,” Education Minnesota said in a news release. “In the wake of the pandemic and the ongoing trauma our Harding students have endured, my goal every day is to make sure they have fun in their learning and know they are loved.”

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