Local Teacher Receives Honorary Mention At 2016 Tony Awards

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A Minneapolis high school teacher was recognized by the 2016 Tony Awards.

On Sunday, The Tony Awards and Carnegie Mellon University announced the recipients of the 2016 Excellence in Theater Education Award, among them was Minneapolis educator Nancy Lee.

The award honors educators who work to inspire and nurture a love of theater in their students, and who encourage a lifelong passion for theater arts.

Lee, a choir and theater arts teacher from Washburn High School, was among 1,100 applicants from across the country who were up for the award.

This year, 20 honorable mentions were given, two finalists were chosen and ultimately one winner was named.

Lee was among the 20 given honorable mentions.

"We are truly fortunate to have Nancy as part of the Washburn community. She brings her passion for teaching, music and theater to the classroom and to students. She brings in a very diverse group of students who come together lifting up their voices," principal Rhonda Dean said in a recent press release.

Lee began working at Washburn in 2008. During her time there, she has helped grow the theater arts program from just a handful of students to several hundred.

All her work for the theater arts program is extracurricular.