Return to Archived Stories

Dickhausen was chosen for his work in developing a district website, and Carstens for his numerous overseas trips with his German students.

Community Education director Matt Dickhausen (left) and German teacher Darrel Carstens (right) were selected to represent the Paynesville Area School District at the Leaders in Educational Excellence banquet in October, where they received their awards from educational commissioner Alice Seagren (second from left) and Dr. Rob Cavanna, executive director of Resource Training & Solutions.

In all, 156 educators from central Minnesota were honored at the event, which was sponsored by Research Training & Solutions and various businesses. The event, with more than 500 people in attendance, was held at the St. Cloud Civic Center.

The event featured a keynote speaker talking about preparing students for the events in the world, and education commissioner Alice Seagren brought congratulations and greetings on behalf of Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

It was the 14th annual Leaders in Educational Excellence event. To date, 1,975 educators in central Minnesota have been recognized.