Sixth-grade teacher Cori McRae will get the chance to be named the 2016 Minnesota Teacher of the Year.

The 2016 Minnesota Teacher of the Year will be chosen from a field of 114 candidates. The full list of eligible candidates who have accepted their nominations and completed the required materials to become eligible for the honor was released last week.

McRae was named Austin Public Schools’ Teacher of the Year during the annual Veterans Day celebration at I.J. Holton Intermediate School on Nov 11, 2015. McRae has worked for Austin Public Schools for nine years, these last three at I.J. Holton. She said a big part of being a teacher for her is building positive relationships with her students.

“I just feel that you have to develop a relationship with students constantly to know who they are as a human being before you could ever possibly reach them academically,” McRae previously told the Herald. “Because if they don’t care about you as a teacher, they don’t care to learn.”

She said one of the most important things she’s learned over time is to stay true to herself. As her sixth-grade students try to figure out who they are with all the changes they go through, McRae said it’s important for them to see their teacher caring about herself and building a foundation for her family and children. She has also shared struggles she went through while growing up and said it’s good for the students to know they can relate to their teacher.

This year’s program will name the 52nd Minnesota Teacher of the Year, celebrating the tradition of excellence in teaching in Minnesota. Candidates include pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade and Adult Basic Education teachers, from public or private schools.

The 2016 Minnesota Teacher of the Year will be announced May 15, at the Radisson Blu Mall of America in Bloomington. Over the coming weeks, a 25-member panel of community leaders will name a group of semifinalists and finalists.

The candidates for 2016 Minnesota Teacher of the Year

Listed by their school districts

Steve Drewlo, Anoka-Hennepin

Nathan Elliott, Anoka-Hennepin

Donna Escobedo, Anoka-Hennepin

Anthony Hirte, Anoka-Hennepin

Cori McRae, Austin

Becky Ylitalo, Badger

Eric Olson, Battle Lake

Brittany Wedlund, Big Lake

David Johnson, Jr., Bloomington

Pamela Hopp, Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart

Patty Herkenhoff, Burnsville-Eagan-Savage

Julie Cross, Centennial

Lori Beard, Clearbrook-Gonvick

Melissa Steele, Cook County

Michelle Kom, Crown of Life, West St. Paul

Joe Lawrence, Delano

Michelle Bowker, Duluth

Michael Emerson, Duluth

Joseph Schingen, Duluth

Laura McCaghy, Eastern Carver County Schools

Julie Beaver, Elk River

Erin Rehnblom, Elk River

Catherine Kallenbach, Fairmont

John Bertucci, Farmington

Brittany Cahoy, Forest Lake

Amy Dougherty, Hancock

Abdul Wright, Best Academy, Minneapolis

Sara Bremer, Hastings

Kari Jaeger, Hastings

Lana Arro, Hermantown

Janet Borash, Hermantown

Jill Hansen, Hermantown

Dale Mundle, Hermantown

Whitney McKinley, Hiawatha College Prep, Minneapolis

Nicholas Fabeck, Hmong College Prep Academy, St. Paul

Pamela Beatty, Intermediate School District 287

Jamie Super, Intermediate School District 916

Rachel McLaughlin, Inver Grove Heights

Jordana Runck, Jackson County Central

Laura Peck, Kasson-Mantorville

Anna Bauer, Kenyon-Wanamingo

Jan Strand, Kenyon-Wanamingo

Cole Wixo, Lake Park Audubon

Janet Ryan, Lakeville

Becky Rahm, Luverne

John Taylor, Mahtomedi

Melissa Tellinghuisen, Milaca

Kara Cisco, Minneapolis

Lisa Lewis, Minneapolis

Deborah Martel, Minneapolis

Elizabeth Neilson, Minneapolis

Hayley Wender, Minneapolis

Melanie DeWitt, Minnetonka

Lisa Lund, Minnetonka

Mary Flesberg, Moorhead

Austen Miller, Morris

David Wicklund, Mounds View

Sean DuBè, New Prague

Andrew Spofford, North Branch

Julie Swanson, North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale

Lauren Craton, Northeast College Prep, Minneapolis

Jennifer Lompart, Northfield

Raina Boucher, Northland Community Schools

Michelle Swenson, Orono

Dennis Loeks, Osseo

Kristin Pengra-Anderson, Osseo

Lisa Wisti Schutte, Osseo

Lori Holm, Owatonna

Jennifer Wirz, Paynesville

Gabrielle Schmidt, Pillager

Jennifer Hansmann, Pine City

Jill Selchow, Prior Lake-Savage

Londa Swenson, Renville County West

Christine Dohrmann, Robbinsdale

Katie Hedlund, Roseau

Heather Walseth, Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan

Maria Le, Roseville

Cameron Radke, Roseville

Carol Mead, Sauk Rapids-Rice

Kelly Bahrke, Shakopee

Sara Connell, Shakopee

Sarah Hartman, Shakopee

Megan Henke, Shakopee

Kristen Wilking, Shakopee

Wes Bolin, South Washington County

Andrea Kleoppel, South Washington County

Linda Pieper, South Washington County

Kaarin Schumacher, South Washington County

Kurt Remick, Spectrum High School, Elk River

Mindy Daugherty, Spring Lake Park

Sada Ganske, Spring Lake Park

Tatiana O’Donnell, Spring Lake Park

Robert Schneider, Spring Lake Park

John Mitsch, St. Anthony-New Brighton

Jamie Studnicka, St. Francis

Yvonne Litfin, St. Joseph School, Waconia

Joseph Osowski, St. Michael-Albertville

Juanita Ortiz, St. Paul

Mary Schmidt, St. Paul

Laura Weghorst, St. Paul

Mark Westpfahl, St. Paul

Koua Yang, St. Paul

Jessica Hovland, Upsala

Aaron Olson, Waconia

Anna Philp, Waconia

Melinda Barrett, Westonka

Susan Simonson, Westonka

Dena Spanjers, Westonka

Julie Thomas, Westonka

Nancy Laines, Wheaton

Amanda Olsen, Wheaton

Pamela Johnstone, White Bear Lake

Mary Cappel, Winona

Nichole Rowland, Wrenshall