Teacher Spotlight Program

The Bismarck Mandan Teacher Spotlight Program has been running since 2022 and has had the honor of recognizing dozens of educators who make a difference every day.

This is Dr. Doug Ness with Active Life Chiropractic. I am the founder of the Teacher Spotlight Program. The roots of this program started with myself growing up with both of my parents working in education. My mother was a grade school teacher for 43 years and my dad taught along with being the superintendent of schools for 42 years. I grew up watching my parents who gave countless hours of their own time before and after school. They were prepping a lesson plan for the next day, helping students with a subject they are struggling with, meeting with parents about their kid, and spending their personal money to buy things for their classroom or school event. Looking back, I recognize that it was the generosity of their time along with the passion they had to help kids be the best version of themselves that inspired me to find a way to give back to all of those in the school system. This inspired me to start the Teacher Spotlight program. The program is designed to be student and peer driven.

It is the students and other teachers that take the time to fill out a form as to why they think their teacher deserves this award. Out of the hundreds of nominations, 9 teacher are chosen each school year because of the positive impact they have on their students!

Partnering with several local businesses in the Bismarck-Mandan area, we created a “gift basket” of services, items, and gift cards that are geared to only be spent or used by the winner. Thank you to all our teachers for making a positive impact on our youth!