Dr. Jeff Fastnacht, BPS Superintendent

09/03/2026

A huge THANK YOU to every public school IT professional across North Dakota!

These coffee-guzzling, overstressed, overworked and underpaid heroes keep BPS, and schools across our entire state, running every day.

The transition to Infinite Campus has been a tremendous undertaking. Add in all the other tools, apps, software and technology with a blinking green light, and it is remarkable what these teams manage to keep working!

This image came from my technology team today, and it says it all.

To our BPS technology team and school IT professionals everywhere: You are amazing, and your work matters. THANK YOU!

09/03/2026

Lisa and I are grateful to the Bismarck Public Schools Foundation for helping us establish the Dr. Jeff and Lisa Fastnacht Scholarship.

While our names are attached to this scholarship, the story behind it is much bigger than the two of us. First, I want to recognize Lisa. For nearly 30 years, she has quietly and faithfully done the work of a teacher, caring for kids, meeting them where they are, and helping them believe in what they can become. I have had the privilege of watching her commitment to students throughout our life together, and she represents so much of what I believe is good about public education.

This scholarship is also only possible because of my parents. Their lifetime of hard work, sacrifice, and careful stewardship created opportunities for our family that they probably never fully realized. The gifts they left our family gave Lisa and I the ability to do something that will hopefully benefit others for years to come. I am deeply grateful for what they built, what they taught us, and the example they left behind.

Education also runs deep in both of our families. Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and others have made their lives in education. Across generations, we have seen firsthand the difference a good teacher can make, not only for a student, but for a family and a community. That is really what this scholarship is about.

We need talented young people to choose education. We need them to see teaching as meaningful work and to know there are people and communities ready to support them along the way.

Each year, the scholarship will support a graduating senior who plans to pursue a career in education, alternating between graduates of Bismarck Public Schools and Ellendale Public Schools. Those two communities have played an important role in our lives and our careers, and it is meaningful to us that this scholarship will give back to both.

We are thankful for everyone whose work, generosity, and example helped make this possible.

The Bismarck Public Schools Foundation is proud to announce the establishment of the Dr. Jeff and Lisa Fastnacht Scholarship, honoring a shared commitment to public education and the belief that great educators have the power to transform lives, strengthen communities, and shape the future.

Together, Jeff and Lisa Fastnacht have devoted more than six decades to serving students and schools across South Dakota and North Dakota. Both began their educational careers in Britton, South Dakota, and went on to serve students, educators, and communities throughout the region.

Lisa served Ellendale Public Schools from 1996–2018 as an elementary teacher and later a Title I teacher. In 2018, she joined Mandan Public Schools as an English Language (EL) teacher, continuing her commitment to helping every child feel supported, valued, and capable of reaching their full potential.

Jeff began his educational leadership career in North Dakota in 1996 as the elementary principal and Technology Director for Ellendale Public Schools. He became superintendent of Ellendale Public Schools in 2002, serving the district for sixteen years. In 2018, he joined Mandan Public Schools as assistant superintendent before becoming superintendent of Bismarck Public Schools in 2023.

Recognizing the ongoing need to recruit, develop, and retain outstanding educators, the Fastnachts created this scholarship to encourage young people to pursue careers in education and celebrate the meaningful impact teachers make in the lives of children every day.

It is Jeff and Lisa’s hope that this scholarship will inspire future educators to lead with purpose, serve with compassion, and make a lasting difference in the lives of their students.

To learn more about the Dr. Jeff and Lisa Fastnacht Scholarship, including applicant criteria, the application form, and ways to contribute, visit:
https://bpsfoundation.com/project/dr-jeff-and-lisa-fastnacht-scholarship/

09/01/2026

🍎 🍴You can make a difference!

Help Bismarck Public Schools reduce student meal debt and ensure every student can focus on learning, not an unpaid meal balance.

Make a difference in a child’s life today. Give:
https://bpsfoundation.com/donations/student-lunch-assistance/

08/31/2026

Learn more about the 2026 BPS Facilities Bond at one of these public meetings. Vote Nov 3, 2026.

08/31/2026

At BPS, we believe parents are the primary educators of their children, and we respect the important role families play in making decisions about their child’s education.

That belief is behind our Family Library Access Plan. BPS is the first school district in North Dakota to provide families this level of choice over their child’s access to school library materials.

Parents can review what is available in their child’s library and choose to opt in or opt out of specific books, titles, or content.

This is about something pretty simple: parents know their children best. Our role is to provide great learning opportunities while giving families meaningful ways to be informed, involved, and make choices for their own children.

08/28/2026

The final minutes on a Friday. Filled with excitement and exhaustion. Thank you to those in our schools that navigate this bit of chaos during dismissal. Have a great weekend.

08/28/2026

Getting to know our students as individuals first is a fundamental step in helping them ELEVATE to their highest POTENTIAL.

08/28/2026

BPS is filled with amazing people that go above and beyond for our kids. Our Child Nutrition staff at CHS make over 150 of these parfait cups for breakfast - by hand. Thank you!

08/25/2026

I have been reading with great interest the recent discussion about technology in North Dakota’s K-12 classrooms.

Nick Archuleta’s recent column, along with comments from Superintendent of Public Instruction Levi Bachmeier and Sen. Michelle Axtman, reinforces many of the discussions we have been having in BPS since last spring, as well as conversations we are currently formulating around the role technology should play in teaching and learning moving forward.

The timing is especially interesting for me because I recently finished two books that approach our relationship with technology from different perspectives: The AI Renaissance by Kassas and The Digital Delusion by Jared Cooney Horvath.

Both reinforced a question I think is more useful than simply asking whether we have too much, or too little, technology in our schools: When does technology improve learning, and when does it get in the way?

There is no going back to an analog world, even though some may wish for it. Computers, digital tools, and artificial intelligence can be powerful tools for teaching and learning. Our students will live and work in a world increasingly shaped by these technologies, and our schools have a responsibility to prepare them for it.

But preparing students for a digital world doesn’t mean every learning experience needs to be digital.

Students still need to read, write, talk, create, collaborate, solve problems, conduct experiments, and build relationships with other people. For our youngest learners especially, I believe these experiences are critical to building the foundation for future learning.

Before students can effectively question an AI-generated answer, they need enough knowledge to recognize when the answer might be wrong. Before they can use technology to extend their thinking, they first need opportunities to develop the ability to think independently.

That is why I don’t think this conversation should become a debate about being “for” or “against” technology. The more important conversation is about being intentional.

It is about using the right tools, at the right time, for the right reasons, while protecting the human relationships and experiences at the center of great teaching and learning.

08/25/2026

Huge shout-out to our very own Anjanette Schlafmann for organizing, fundraising, and spearheading the install of communication stations on BPS playgrounds. When you find one, stop by and take a look.