A Menomonie High School teacher will receive a national award in Tennessee.

The vice president of a textbook publisher will present Susan Turgeson with the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences 2009 National Teacher of the Year award. It recognizes a teacher who's on the cutting-edge in presenting family and consumer sciences elementary and secondary education.

Turgeson has taught a food sciences course for the past eight years. Her students translate recipes written in wingding characters, and use books and movies to complement their exercises. She's also partnering with UW-Stout to expose students to graduate research, and to let them talk with professors and students.