Teacher wins national award for student support

Recognition for educators often comes from students, but this month a parent’s nomination changed the trajectory for Anna Tykwinski. The West Fargo teacher recently accepted the Honored National Teaching Award, a distinction that carries a $5,000 cash prize and a feature on the organization's podcast.

The award program operates on a monthly cycle, selecting one nominated teacher to receive the grant. According to Honored, such recognition helps keep teachers engaged and in the classroom for longer periods. Tykwinski, who is in her eighth year at Westside Elementary, was selected based on the impact she had on a specific student.

Jamie Bommersbach, the student’s mother, filed the nomination. She cited the high risk of burnout for teachers who work with challenging students and wanted to show her appreciation for how Tykwinski changed her son's life.

Bommersbach’s son, Dax, was in second grade when he first met Tykwinski. Diagnosed with ADHD and autism, Dax struggled with anxiety and social interactions. He spent most of the school day in the special education room. Bommersbach said the team decided the relationship between teacher and student had to be established before any other work could proceed effectively.

Tykwinski took over third grade the following year and requested to teach Dax again. She felt their work together was incomplete. By mid-year, Dax was in the general classroom 90% of the time. By the end of the year, he attended class without a behavioral technician, sitting with other students.

To build these connections, Tykwinski utilized small group activities and unstructured time. She identified other students who shared Dax's interest in history and arranged for them to sit together. This strategy helped Dax feel comfortable enough to enter the classroom on his own initiative.

Tykwinski also emphasized sharing positive moments with parents, a practice she adopted after having young children of her own. She believed that parents of well-behaved students should not only hear from teachers when problems arise. Bommersbach said Tykwinski treated her son like one of her own, a quality she believes is rare in teaching.

Tykwinski said the nomination letter is something she rereads frequently. She noted that parents sometimes assume a child's success is natural and do not always recognize the teacher's contribution. The award validates the effort required to build those small, daily connections in a classroom of 24 students.