Lakewood Elementary teacher Melissa Bergman wins Duluth's Greg Irons Award

A Lakewood Elementary kindergarten teacher was singled out Wednesday with Duluth’s Greg Irons Award, a $500 honor that goes each year to one Duluth Public Schools employee. Melissa Bergman was recognized for her dedication to students and education, putting a local spotlight on the daily work that keeps classrooms running in St. Louis County and beyond.

The award carries the name of Greg Irons, a Duluth Public Schools science teacher, minority student tutor and athletic coach whose service became part of the district’s identity. Irons, a graduate of Duluth East High School and the University of Minnesota Duluth, died in a hunting accident in November 1989. The prize was created to honor employees who reflect his work, including support for students with special needs, while reinforcing the district’s stated commitment to diversity, inclusion and educational equity.

Bergman said she had wanted to become a teacher since she was young, shaped by the role models in her life. She described kindergarten as chaotic but deeply meaningful work, a description that fit the demands of an early-childhood classroom where students need academic instruction, emotional support and constant attention in the same day. Her recognition points to the kind of labor that often goes unseen outside school hallways: building trust, calming young children and helping them take their first steady steps in public education.

Lakewood Elementary is a small, tight-knit neighborhood school, Bergman said, where teachers come to know students and families well and often become part of a child’s life far beyond academics. That closeness reflects the broader mission Duluth Public Schools presents for Lakewood and the district, with an emphasis on learning opportunities that grow creativity, curiosity and connection. It also helps explain why an award like this resonates locally: in a district facing ongoing pressure over staffing, budgets and student support, public recognition can serve as both morale boost and statement of priorities.

The Greg Irons Award has gone to other Duluth educators in past years, including Laura LaFontaine, and remains tied to the values Irons represented in the district. For Bergman, the honor marks individual achievement; for Duluth Public Schools, it is a reminder that the district still sees everyday classroom work, especially in kindergarten, as central to student success.