Cliff Buchan
News Editor

Years from now when kids in ISD 831 graduate from the Forest Lake High School Area Learning Center program, they should give thanks to Deborah Anderson.

Anderson may just be a name in years to come, but without her efforts, the high school graduation program for students who need a new path in school may not have existed.

Anderson, a teacher in the district since 1988, died unexpectedly at her Forest Lake home on Friday, Sept. 28. She was 52.

Anderson was remembered this week as a teacher who could bring structure in a sometimes difficult learning world.

Mike Dornseif, the district’s youth development coordinator, said Anderson could comfortably fill the roles of “drill sergeant and mom” for the students who needed both.

It was Dornseif and Anderson who teamed in 1993 to write the proposal that led to the creation of the ALC in Forest Lake.

How important has the program been?

“There have been hundreds and hundreds of kids who have completed their high school degrees and started successful lives because of this program,” Dornseif said.

Dornseif said it was Anderson’s compassion and love for kids that made her special.

“She was able to create structure out of chaos, but at the same time she never stopped caring,” he said. “She stood up for those kids who needed something extra. The kids adored her.”

Anderson’s life

Deborah Anderson was born on March 28, 1955, in Britton, SD, to Arlie and Mary Steen.

She grew up in Wahpeton, ND. She attended the North Dakota State School of Science in Wahpeton and received a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, with a double major in elementary education and special education.

She received her master’s from St. Cloud State University.

Anderson’s 31-year teaching career began in Brainerd in 1976. After marrying John Anderson on Aug. 25, 1979 in Wahpeton, she began a 10-year teaching career in Dickinson, ND.

The Andersons moved from North Dakota to Forest Lake in 1988. She taught for three years in Chisago City before going to work in ISD 831 in 1991.

She was involved in the district’s chemical health program as a teacher for several years, but spent the bulk of her years here with the ALC.

She was the district’s first junior high teacher hired to work at the ALC.

In addition to her efforts to create the ALC here, she also worked to initiate the Strive Program for students in grades 6-8.

Anderson was starting her third year this fall teaching learning disabled special education students at Linwood Elementary School.

Funeral details

A funeral service for Deborah Ann Anderson was Wednesday, Oct. 3 at Mattson Funeral Home, Forest Lake. Interment was at Cedar Hill Cemetery, Forest Lake.

In addition to her husband, John, she is survived by three children, Jacob, of Denver, CO, and Lucas and Meghan, both of Forest Lake; her father, Arlie, of Clitheral, MN, and many other relatives and friends.

She was preceded in death by her mother, Mary Steen, and brother, Paul Steen.

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