“I have a lot of people ask, ‘How do you build relationships in your classroom?’” Bergrud said. “‘How do you make those connections?’ And I don't have an answer. … When I was teaching elementary school … at the end of the day, 3:05, kids want to go home. Nope, I had a group that wanted to stay in my classroom and chitchat. I don’t know what it is. It’s just that natural connection that I have with kids.”
That connection was on display at the 2025 North Dakota Teacher of the Year ceremony at the state Capitol on Sept. 27, 2024, when Bergrud was named this year’s recipient. And in the audience, five of Bergrud’s students showed up, wearing t-shirts with Mr. Bergrud’s visage silkscreened on them.
“They came with those shirts made,” Bergrud said. “I think they just have that feeling that I’m their champion. I want them to be successful. And I think they just know that I’m going to hold them to high standards, but also be there if they need it. I will go up to bat for them at any time that they need it.”
Bergrud first started his journey as an educator in Bismarck, where he grew up and now teaches. “I guess when I was in kindergarten, I came home one day, I told my parents I wanted to be a teacher, and I guess that that stuck,” he said. “I think my parents were the biggest supporters. They were like, yep, keep doing this. You got this. You're going to make a difference.”
He got his bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Dickinson State University, and began teaching at Lincoln Elementary, first as a Learning Academy teacher, then teaching fourth and fifth grades. In August of 2022, he moved over to Wachter, where he teaches both math and Peer to Peer.
“As an educator, that is one of my goals is, how can I get connected with families, sooner rather than later? We're a team. We're trying to have the best intentions, the best ideas to make the students successful."
Bergrud is also a big believer in building trust relationships with parents. “As an educator, that is one of my goals is, how can I get connected with families, sooner rather than later?” he said. “We're a team. We're trying to have the best intentions, the best ideas to make the students successful. … But I also think reaching out to them, building those connections, building that relationship, they build that trust (in you). And they know that you want the absolute best for their child, and they’re going to support you, any way they can, to make sure that it’s successful for both you as the educator, as well as the student.”
