12-07-2025
Two northeast North Dakota teachers among Teacher of the Year finalists
Jul. 11—GRAND FORKS — Four finalists have been named for the 2026 North Dakota Teacher of the Year.
North Dakota State School Superintendent Kirsten Baesler announced the finalists on Friday, July 11. They are:
* Emily Dawes, a first-grade teacher at J. Nelson Kelly Elementary School in Grand Forks,
* Hannah Sagvold, a business education teacher at Lisbon Public School,
* Frannie Tunseth, who teaches fourth through eighth grades at Mayville-Portland-Clifford-Galesburg Public School in Mayville and
* Leah Wheeling, a sixth-grade physical education and digital literacy teacher at Simle Middle School in Bismarck.
The four finalists were selected from a pool of 48 North Dakota County Teachers of the Year, who were named earlier this year. Baesler plans to visit all all four finalists' schools during the upcoming academic year, a release from Baesler's office said.
The winner will become a candidate for the national Teacher of the Year award.
"These finalists represent the skilled, compassionate educators that we blessed to have in our North Dakota schools," Baesler said in a statement. "Our Teacher of the Year program is intended to lift up the teaching profession and show the respect, appreciation, and admiration we have for our teachers, and celebrate the work they do to educate the young people who represent our future."
The four finalists will be interviewed by an eight-member screening committee, which will make the final selection, the release said. The 2026 North Dakota Teacher of the Year is expected to be announced in September.
North Dakota's 2025 Teacher of the Year is math teacher Kendall Bergrud, of Wachter Middle School in Bismarck. His successor will begin serving as the state Teacher of the Year on Jan. 1, 2026.
