‘Big Honor’: Cooper Band Teacher Nominated for State’s Top Award
Cooper High School band teacher Markus Hahn knows his students are capable of great things.
“If you see what’s going on in my classroom, [the next generation is] going to be just fine,” he said. “The kids are tremendous. It’s wonderful to see what they are capable of producing. And a lot of people take that for granted.”
It’s one of the reasons he pushes them to do their best when they step in the classroom.
“I work really hard for my students every day to make sure that we’re not wasting class time,” he said. “We never waste a day.”
Hahn has taught band classes at Cooper for a decade, bringing a passion for music to the classroom.
“I think music is one of the best forms of self expression,” he said.
And even though music can be created as a solo venture, Hahn thinks the teamwork that’s often involved offers a budding youth important lessons.
“You just have to all work together,” he said. “While our world becomes more individualized, there’s nothing individualized about music classrooms. It’s still 40, 50 people making music together, playing at the same time. You can hate the person at the end of the trumpet section, but guess what? You still have to play with them. And in so many other facets of our life, I don’t like you, so we’re just not going to work together. And music is just one big cooperation.”
Award Nomination
Hahn is in a unique position: he’s been nominated for the 2026 Minnesota Teacher of the Year award by Education Minnesota.
He’s the only teacher in the Robbinsdale Area School District to receive the distinction this year.
Just last year, his colleagues in the Robbinsdale Federation of Teachers named him Teacher of the Year.
So how does he explain his success?
“In my mind, a lot of curiosity,” Hahn said. “If you’re going to really teach the kids to their fullest, it’s making sure that you are curious and seeing what’s going on and making sure that your students are represented in your classroom.”
His personal connections to students are also significant — Hahn paused his interview with CCX News to greet a student named Kenya.
“The honest truth is, I love talking to them,” Hahn said of his students. “Like the fact that Kenya, way down there goes ‘Hey Mr. Hahn,’ you know, that makes you approachable as an educator. And if you’re approachable, kids are going to ask questions. And that’s why those relationships matter.”
Hahn is grateful to be nominated for Teacher of the Year, calling it a “big honor.”
“It’s so important to be reflective and just believe in yourself,” he said. “And you know, sometimes you get an award, sometimes you get a trophy. And that’s great, and you can’t minimize that. And sometimes you don’t, and that doesn’t make you less of a teacher either.”
Award-winning or not, it’s the joy of shared music that keeps Hahn in the classroom.
“When someone starts playing those first notes and they become self sufficient, and then all of the sudden seeing ‘oh wait, I can do this,’ you know, that’s incredibly gratifying,” Hahn said.
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