DEVILS LAKE — The North Dakota Association of Secondary School Principals (NDASSP) as part of the National Association of Secondary School Principals principal recognition program, has named Ryan Hanson, principal at Devils Lake High School, the North Dakota High School Principal of the Year.

The NASSP National Principal of the Year program recognizes outstanding middle level and high school principals. Each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Department of State Office of Overseas Schools, and the U.S. Department of Defense Education Activity select one middle level or high school principal to represent them. From these winners, three finalists are named as contenders for the National Principal of the Year award.

Hanson completed his undergraduate degree from Valley City State University in math education. He completed his master’s degree from the University of North Dakota in educational leadership. His desire to help students beyond the walls of his classroom led him to pursue the principalship.

Hanson began his career at Center Public Schools as a high school math and science teacher, along with coaching basketball, speech and golf, from 1992-1994. From 1994- 1998, he was a high school math and science teacher at Divide County High School in Crosby. He served as a head coach for both girls’ and boys’ basketball while leading the academic team, science bowl team and assisting with science fair and academic Olympiad competitions.

He began his career in Devils Lake in 1998, teaching math and science in both Devils Lake High School and the Alternative High School. He was the head girls’ basketball coach and an assistant and junior high boys’ basketball coach. He spent one year as the Starkweather-Munich girls’ basketball coach as well. In 2004, he accepted an offer to lead the Firebird community as the new principal at Devils Lake High School.

Hanson credits several people who have assisted in his growth as a person and an educational leader, including, while at Divide County, Barry Haggin and Bob Brown, who instilled in him a passion for coaching the right way, the importance of communication, and what dedication to a program looks like. Norm Sortland and Don Nielsen put him in positions of leadership and encouraged his growth as an educator and coach.

In his 19 years at Devils Lake High School, Hanson has weathered changes in enrollment and staff. The school has transformed its culture into one in which students have a voice and relationships come first.

Hanson and his wife, Heidi, are the parents of four children and have one granddaughter.