A+ for Mr. D

Bret Dockter, sixth-grade teacher from Harvey, receives Teacher of the Year award

By Tom Gerhardt, tom.gerhardt@ndunited.org

Bret Dockter, a sixth-grade social studies, science and math teacher at B.M. Hanson Elementary School in Harvey, is known affectionately as “Mr. D.” But as the 2022 North Dakota Teacher of the Year, Dockter gets all “A’s” for the effort he gives in his classroom and on the football field, as the head coach for Harvey-Wells County.

At a ceremony held at the state Capitol building in Bismarck on Sept. 27, Dockter was honored along with three other finalists for the state’s top prize for educators in front of a crowd of friends, family, colleagues, elected officials and a special group of his senior football players who traveled all the way to Bismarck, not even knowing he was going to receive the top award.

“When I came this morning, and I saw a group of my boys walk in — and they had no idea that this was going down today — it took my breath away,” Dockter said. “It was one of the most special things I have, that day, is when I got to look back and saw those guys in suits, their shirts and ties, and thinking to myself. … That was hard to take in, in a good way, because it was so great, and that they said they were just going to come support me.”

Bret Dockter speaks at the 2022 North Dakota Teacher of the Year awards ceremony held at the state Capitol building in Bismarck on Sept. 27.

Photo by Kelly Hagen, kelly.hagen@ndunited.org

The day was made even more special by the students who couldn’t be there with him in-person, too. Dockter said he woke up on the day of the ceremony to a nice surprise from his students at the elementary school. “I got a text from the grade school with the whole grade school in the gym floor wishing me good luck,” Dockter said. “There are no words to describe what those kids mean to all of us.”

Each year, educators from across the state are nominated to receive their county’s award as top teacher, and all of those recipients move on for consideration to be named as finalists for the North Dakota Teacher of the Year recognition. This year’s competition was, as always, formidable. North Dakota United President Nick Archuleta explained the challenge it is each year, and especially in the last couple of years, to select just one winner amongst all the quality educators in our state.

“They are (all) incredible teachers, and they are here representing incredible colleagues all across the state,” President Archuleta said. “The quality of the work that you have done over the course of the past two years has been nothing short of phenomenal. You went from full-time face-to-face instruction to full-time distance learning instruction, and back again, more competently and professionally than any state in the nation.”

Bret Dockter accepts his 2022 North Dakota Teacher of the Year award from NDU President Nick Archuleta

Photo by Kelly Hagen, kelly.hagen@ndunited.org

The other three finalists for North Dakota Teacher of the Year award included Heather Ell, of John Hoeven Elementary in Minot; Matt Nielson, of Valley City High School; and Shari Jerdi, of Community School in Grand Forks. All are members of North Dakota United.

“It is with great pride and humility that I stand here today to accept this award,” Dockter said in his remarks. “I am humbled and overwhelmed when I think about the amazing teachers all across the state of North Dakota. It is surreal to be considered that I am among them because there are so many of them. Every day – and I’ve heard it quite a bit this morning about the pandemic and what teachers went through, and it was never easy – but no one ever gave up, and that’s North Dakota.”

Dockter mentioned the significant efforts that educators have given during the pandemic — and never giving up. He offered a long list of thank-you’s, including one to North Dakota United.

“Next, thank you to President Archuleta and North Dakota United for having our backs and supporting the welfare of our teachers,” he said. “The pandemic has taken its toll on the teaching profession. It is a relief to know that we have a group that are promoting our teachers and are concerned for the health and well-being of our teachers.”

Dockter in his classroom in Harvey, ND.

Photo by Tom Gerhardt, tom.gerhardt@ndunited.org

Gov. Doug Burgum lauded Dockter in his remarks at the ceremony for the work he does with project-based learning. “He understands that students learn better when they see themselves as part of something larger, something like as members of a team or a project team,” Governor Burgum said. “He encourages students to apply what they learn in a classroom in their lives outside of school and he encourages relationship building in his community.”

“I don’t know if maybe it’s just from my learning, my own learning, (but) I don’t like sitting in a desk all day,” Dockter said. “I like to have hands-on, get dirty and … it gets pretty hectic.”

Project-based learning, along with building relationships, is at the heart of Dockter’s teaching style. A poster on the door to his room says students are the reason he shows up every day.

“What would we have without our kids?” Dockter said. “That’s the best way you could say (it). They’re the reason we’re here every day. I don’t know of another job … where it changes every day and it’s something new every day. I mean, something new today happened that will not happen tomorrow. And that’s exciting to me.”

North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler said that when her office called Dockter to inform him he was a finalist, they found out more about his character. “When we first called Mr. Dockter in July to tell him he was a finalist for the Teacher of the Year award, our public information officer was calling, and he said, ‘I can’t talk to you right now; I’ll have to call you back.’ He was volunteering his time working on a city garbage truck, and he needed to attend to that,” Baesler said.

He challenges his students to “leave a legacy.”

It started as an accident 13 years ago when he wanted his kids to get a sense of a million. They collected pop tops and got to around 900,000, and they then donated them to the Ronald McDonald House in Bismarck.

Eventually, that success led to each successive class doing an impactful community project.

“I think everybody takes a lot of pride in what we’re (and) what we’ve been able to do,” he said. “We helped purchase a fire truck last year. We’re helping to build a new bridge, and people like to see everybody coming together rather than we see so much people being split. We get to see people come together, and the kids are the leaders of it, and I think that’s the best, you know?”

Dockter on the football field.

Photo by Tom Gerhardt, tom.gerhardt@ndunited.org

Dockter hopes to use his Teacher of the Year platform to promote and encourage more young people to become educators. There’s no doubting his pride and passion for the profession.

“We have some of the best — or maybe the best — educators in the nation. And so, to represent all of the teachers out there that are doing these things, it’s humbling to me because, you know, as I said at the start, we have the best,” he said. “We are the best, I think, and I’m very proud to be from North Dakota.”