Davies High School social studies teacher Bart Manson has been named the Fargo Public Schools 2025 Teacher of the Year. Superintendent Dr. Rupak Gandhi surprised him with an announcement Wednesday at Davies High School.
Manson has served as a social studies teacher with Fargo Public Schools since 2008. He began with FPS at South High School and moved to Davies when it opened in 2011. Prior to FPS, he taught at West Fargo High School from 2007-08, Red River High School in Grand Forks, N.D. from 1998-2007, and Turtle Mountain High School in Belcourt, N.D. from 1996-98. He has been the head boys basketball coach at Davies since its inaugural season in 2010-11. He was also head boys basketball coach at Red River and Turtle Mountain and head girls basketball coach at Turtle Mountain and Glenburn Public School in Glenburn, N.D. He holds a bachelor’s degree in social studies from Minot State University.
Manson’s nominators say his greatest strength is his unwavering belief in the potential of every student. He engages students, meets them where they are, and builds trusting relationships that provide him an opportunity to nurture students and help them grow both inside the classroom and beyond its walls. He asks probing questions and requires students to become engaged in their own learning, raising the bar for each student regardless of who they are or where they have been. His life’s work is to create leaders and mentors that shape the Davies community today and will continue to do so long into the future.
Manson is a role model not only for his students, but for Davies’ staff and the staffs of schools across the state and country. His colleagues say that his commitment to lifelong learning is a powerful example to those around him. When an outside visitor wants to visit Davies to see how a classroom at the school looks and functions, his is at the top of the list, held as an example administrators are proud to highlight.
When Davies hosted a site visit during the 2023-24 school year to showcase Standards-Based Instruction and Evidence-Based Grading, Manson passionately shared his journey with more than 50 educators from across the state. A colleague says that with tears in his eyes and a choked-up voice, he spoke about his evolution as a teacher, emphasizing the pivotal role of putting students and their learning at the center of every decision. His openness about the successes and challenges of this learning method prompted a shift in the mindsets of attendees.
Manson follows Eagles Elementary School Special Education Teacher Amanda Hetland as the District’s recipient of the Teacher of the Year honor. His name will now be considered for the Cass County Teacher of the Year Award. The Cass County Teacher of the Year is then forwarded to the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction as a candidate for the North Dakota Teacher of the Year award.
The Fargo Public Schools Teacher of the Year award has been presented within the District since 1957. The honor is an award regularly bestowed as part of the District’s annual Staff Recognition Program. The District also annually recognizes a Support Staff of the Year and an Administrator of the Year as part of this recognition program.
