Meet Erica Boomsma, who has been named the South Dakota Teacher of the Year for 2019. Erica says she always knew that she would be a teacher. She strives to empower and support the students from all over the world that she teaches.

Erica is a fourth grade teacher at the Washington 4-5 Center in the Huron School District located in Sioux Falls. She has taught there since 2002. Erica is a leader in her school and district, serving as a valued resource to colleagues seeking guidance on effective instructional strategies for English language learners. In recent years, she has led the development of a highly successful literacy program focused on building fluency and comprehension. As part of this program, students have created a “virtual library,” recording themselves reading books aloud. These audiobooks are then made available for all classrooms in the district.

In the short video below Erica shares her inspiration for becoming a teacher: