Long before Alysha Hamann became the South Dakota Region 1 Teacher of the Year, she was sitting on a classroom floor beside a student she barely knew, reading a book.
After moving back to South Dakota from Illinois, Hamann, who currently teaches special education at Mickelson Middle School, began substitute teaching in her local school district, often working as a paraprofessional in special education classrooms. She was nervous about working with students whose experiences she did not yet understand and worried she would not know how to help them.
On her first day in the classroom, a young student began experiencing significant physical pain related to medical issues. Hamann knew there was nothing she could do to make the pain go away, but she could be present and stay with him. She got down on the floor beside him, placed a book in front of them, and began to read.
She later told her dad that she felt special education was her calling but wondered whether students would want her as their teacher. Her dad reminded her that the students she would work with knew what it was like to feel left out and excluded. She would have the opportunity to give them a key to the world of inclusion while they taught her what it meant to walk through that world alongside them.
The next day, Hamann enrolled at Black Hills State University to pursue her master’s degree in special education.
Today, that belief in inclusion is at the heart of Hamann’s classroom at Mickelson Middle School, known as “The Hideout.”
Former Mickelson principal Todd Foster said Hamann has created much more than a classroom.
“Alysha has created a place where students feel welcomed, valued, and truly at home.”
Instructional Assistant Aaron Cooley sees that same sense of belonging every day.
“When you step in Mrs. Hamann’s room, you immediately feel like you’re part of a special club.”
For Hamann, that is exactly what she hopes her students experience. Years from now, she wants them to remember a classroom where they felt safe and a teacher who reminded them they were brave, smart, capable, and loved. Most of all, she wants them to know she will always be in their corner.
Being in her students’ corner also means looking beyond the immediate challenges of middle school.
Foster said Hamann is constantly thinking about what her students will need in the future, not just what they need today. That mindset led her to secure grant funding and transform a classroom into a Life Skills Lab, giving students opportunities to develop practical skills, confidence, and independence they can carry with them beyond Mickelson.
“She doesn’t just teach students,” Foster said. “She prepares them for life.”
When Hamann learned she had been named the South Dakota Region 1 Teacher of the Year, many of the people who had become part of her journey were there with her.
She was in her classroom when a stream of people, including her family, walked through the door and Foster announced the honor. Moved to tears by the crowd gathered to celebrate, Hamann’s first thought was not about receiving an individual award.
It was, “We did it.”
For Hamann, the recognition belonged to her students, too.
That sense of shared accomplishment reflects the impact Hamann has had throughout the Brookings School District.
“Alysha represents the very best of the Brookings School District,” said Dr. Summer Schultz, superintendent of schools. “She is a highly skilled educator who builds meaningful relationships, creates an inclusive learning environment, and believes deeply in the potential of every student.”
Schultz said Hamann’s influence reaches well beyond her classroom, making the district proud to have her represent Brookings and Region 1 at the state level.
But the story behind the recognition began long before the award, on a classroom floor with a student in pain and a teacher who did not know exactly what to do.
She could not make his pain disappear.
She could stay.
Years later, that is still what Hamann does: meet her students where they are and help them believe they do not have to face the world alone.
Alysha will take part in the South Dakota Teacher of the Year Banquet on Thursday, September 17. To learn more about Alysha and her journey as an educator, watch her highlight video [here].