Two social studies teachers at Winona Middle School are sharing the Winona Education Association's top honor for 2026. Tommy Sawyer and Cody Weadge were named the association's Teachers of the Year.
The two learned about the awards during a surprise ceremony on Friday afternoon at the middle school, held in the middle of a combined classroom activity.
Sawyer has taught for 14 years, including 10 years in Winona Area Public Schools. He helped establish the AVID program at the middle school, works on all-school assemblies and events such as the AVID Holiday Store, and also coaches football and track and field.
Weadge has taught for 12 years and serves on several school, district and association committees. In his social studies classes he works with the Chamber of Commerce to bring in speakers who can talk with students about possible future careers.
Colleagues who nominated them pointed to the relationships both men build with students. Sawyer, who nominated Weadge himself, described his classroom as a safe place for students to ask questions, while others praised Weadge's humor and Sawyer's enthusiasm and creative ways of engaging classes.
