News

The COVID pandemic had many impacts on our children, and one of the most significant was the decrease in their school grades and test scores. One North Dakota school district saw the decline and immediately went to work to reverse the situation. The result? Their English Language Arts (ELA) academic achievement scores went from 26% in the 2020-2021 school year to 48% in the 2022-2023 school year. Their math scores increased from 20% to 32% in the same time frame.  

Sheila Peterson, a physical education teacher and athletics coach at Wachter Middle School in Bismarck, has been named as North Dakota’s 2024 Teacher of the Year, state School Superintendent Kirsten Baesler and Lt. Gov. Tammy Miller said in a joint announcement on Thursday.

NDDPI and partners will be hosting several State Board of Public School Education meetings and K12 Education Coordination Meetings through the remainder of the calendar year. 

North Dakota State School Superintendent Kirsten Baesler on Tuesday praised three North Dakota schools for earning the designation of Blue Ribbon School, an honor conferred by the U.S. Department of Education.

North Dakota’s Emergency Commission on Thursday unanimously approved the Department of Public Instruction’s request to use more than $4 million in grants to strengthen state efforts to help classroom paraprofessionals become full-fledged teachers.

State School Superintendent Kirsten Baesler said Friday that nine North Dakota community libraries will share $360,000 in grants to reimburse their costs for providing summer reading and engagement activities and buying K-12 library materials.

The following amounts will be used for the 2023-2024 school year to determine the school district's responsibility (cost cap) for educating resident students. 

North Dakota School Superintendent Kirsten Baesler has awarded a $10,000 innovation grant to the Hettinger public schools to finance an advanced botany instruction program, including a rain garden and hydroponics system for growing plants.

State School Superintendent Kirsten Baesler says more than $4 million in new grant support will strengthen North Dakota’s efforts to help classroom paraprofessionals become full-fledged teachers, at a time when many schools have been scrambling to find instructors.

NDDPI and its partners are putting together some great resources for better incorporating Indigenous culture into every grade level and content area.