PIERRE, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - The South Dakota Department of Education announced on Thursday that Becky Haenfler, a middle school English Language Arts teacher at the Avon School District, was named the 2026 South Dakota Teacher of the Year.

“Becky Haenfler has a wonderful reputation at Avon School District as being an engaging educator whose teaching style gets kids excited about reading,” said Secretary of Education Joseph Graves. “She is committed to making sure all of her students have the supports they need to read novels that challenge and inspire them, and that experience turns them into lifelong readers.”

A USD graduate, Haenfler teaches fifth, sixth, and seventh grade at the school and in the same classroom where she attended as a child.

Using novels as the foundation for le

See Full Page