I’ve been reporting on Hassan’s journey since she became the first Somali American to win the Minnesota Teacher of the Year award, in 2020. Over that time, I visited her classroom, spoke with her students, and talked to school parents and fellow teachers. All of them praised Hassan’s teaching methods, her uncanny ability to connect with children, and the representation she brought to their schools. In the classroom, at award ceremonies, and even at a school board protest, I’ve observed how much Hassan means to her students—and how much they mean to her.
“We’ve got children all across Minnesota that believe that they can do anything because of your example, and for that I am incredibly grateful,” Gov. Tim Walz told Hassan in a speech at the following year’s Minnesota Teacher of the Year ceremony.
But more recently, the joy Hassan had once found in the classroom was fading, she told me. She dreaded going to work. She felt like she was becoming less of herself.