Bergrud Named 2025 ND Teacher of the Year

Kendall Bergrud, a mathematics teacher at Wachter Middle School in Bismarck, is North Dakota's Teacher of the Year for 2025, state School Superintendent Kirsten Baesler and Gov. Doug Burgum said in a joint announcement Friday.

It is the second straight year that a Wachter educator has been awarded North Dakota's top teaching honor. In January, Bergrud will succeed Sheila Peterson, a Wachter physical education and athletics teacher, as Teacher of the Year.

"Every educator in North Dakota deserves this honor, as I am not above the rest of you, as I know how hard each and every educator works across this state," Bergrud said as he accepted the award. "As educators, most of us were called to this work because of the drive and dedication we have in helping students and seeing them succeed."

Bergrud's award was announced at a state Capitol ceremony held to celebrate the four finalists for the honor. They were Bergrud; Macie Harris-Nelson, a music teacher at Kenmare Public Schools; Ashley Nudell, who teaches family and consumer science at Lisbon High School; and Kayla Tatro, who teaches English, math, science, music, and technology at Roosevelt Elementary School in Carson.

"To his colleagues, his students, and the people who know him best, Kendall Bergrud's dedication, skill and passion for teaching is nothing short of extraordinary," Baesler said. "He has a remarkable ability to forge meaningful relationships and make connections with his students.

"Mr. Bergrud teaches students how to believe in themselves, how to overcome challenges, and how to pursue their dreams. He's a mentor and guide, and he supports and believes in the potential of every student."

Burgum said that Bergrud "embodies what we love about North Dakota: People who support and care about each other, who look out for their neighbors and their neighbors' children, who want the very best for our current and future generations of young people because we know they represent 100% of our future."

"His empathy and commitment to understanding every student's needs and challenges creates a special bond that supports their emotional and academic growth and helps them reach their full potential," the governor said.

Bergrud began his teaching career at Lincoln Elementary School, in the Burleigh County community of Lincoln, in 2013. He taught fifth- and sixth-grade mathematics. Lincoln Elementary is part of the Bismarck school district.

He moved to Wachter in 2022, teaching math in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades and working as part of the school's leadership team, a position he also held at Lincoln. Bergrud has been a principal intern at Bismarck's Myhre Elementary and Horizon Middle School, and coached volleyball and basketball at Wachter.

Bergrud earned his bachelor of science degree in elementary education at Dickinson State University in 2012, and earned a master of science in educational leadership from the University of Mary in 2018.

Bergrud said his "incredible students, both past and present" have "continually inspired and challenged me throughout my journey as an educator. Each day their curiosity and determination remind me why I became an educator."

"To our students, know that your potential is limitless," Bergrud said. "Embrace challenges, seek knowledge, and never stop dreaming. Here's to many more moments of learning and growing for ourselves and our students."

A group of five of Bergrud's students, each wearing a white T-shirt with an image of their favorite teacher, showed up at Friday's ceremony to support him. They let out an earsplitting yell when Baesler announced that Bergrud was the Teacher of the Year.

The process of selecting the 2025 Teacher of the Year began last spring, when Baesler invited nominations for County Teachers of the Year. Forty-nine North Dakota educators were subsequently honored as Teachers of the Year from their respective counties.

The four finalists for the state Teacher of the Year award were chosen from among those 49 educators, including Bergrud, who was honored as Burleigh County Teacher of the Year.

The state Teacher of the Year was chosen by an eight-member screening committee of education stakeholders, who reviewed their applications and interviewed the finalists. The process is outlined in North Dakota law, NDCC 15.1-02-21.

Bergrud's selection means he will be considered for National Teacher of the Year, which will be announced in the spring of 2025. The Council of Chief State School Officers, which represents state education interests in Washington, D.C., supervises the selection process.

Sara Medalen, the 2020 Teacher of the Year and a reading and math interventionist at Sunnyside Elementary School in Minot, spoke at the ceremony about the joys and demands of teaching.

"Teaching is undoubtedly one of the most challenging professions, balancing curriculum demands, individual student needs, and ever-changing expectations. Recruitment and retention have become real concerns as educators face increasing pressures," she said.

"Yet despite these challenges, there are profound joys in teaching, not just the academic moments, but the moments of joy, the moments of hilarity, the moments when teachers look at each other and say, 'You just can't make this stuff up,'" she said, relating a story about a student who brought a dead squirrel in his backpack to Sunnyside for show and tell.

"Every doctor who saves a life, every engineer who built a bridge, every scientist who makes a discovery, were shaped by a teacher," Medalen said. "By someone who believed in their potential and gave them hope and the tools they needed to reach their dreams."

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