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Resource Center

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The North Dakota Department of Public Instruction (NDDPI) is dedicated to gathering local, regional, and national resources for anyone in the education field. This resource center is designed to be a one-stop-shop to help school, educators, students, parents, and caregivers by providing access to educational supports and resources.

The linked resources on this page were carefully chosen for their alignment to North Dakota K-12 Education Content Standards. Particular attention has been given to identifying best practices and guidance in supporting ALL students and providing suggestions for educator professional learning. Local public school districts decide which curriculum, materials, and resources are used within their district; therefore, these resources may or may not be aligned to a student's specific coursework. Please be sure to cross-check your students' and school's specific materials to ensure appropriate use.

Disclaimer: To provide a wide variety of resources to assist families and educators, this site links to external websites. All external links operate independently from the NDDPI. The department has established a regular review process in an attempt to keep this information up-to-date and accurate. However, neither the State of North Dakota nor any agency, officer, or employee of the State of North Dakota warrants the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of any information published by this system, nor endorses any content, viewpoints, products, or services linked from this system, and shall not be held responsible for any losses caused by reliance on the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of such information. 

Do you have a resource recommendation?

Companies wishing to share their information on this page are encouraged to complete a Vendor Resource Form. All solicitations will be reviewed to ensure alignment with our North Dakota K-12 Standards.  

Medium
Academic

Career & Technical Education

ELA

Fine Arts

Foreign Language

  • STARTALK - The site provides information and strategies to teach foreign languages.

Health and PE

  • CHS Farmer's Alliance Cooperative - Safety information for rural areas including farm safety.
  • ND SHAPE - Site links to resources from SHAPE America to encourage healthy habits and physical activity.
  • Shape America 2020-21 - Resource for teachers of physical education and health providing considerations for re-entry in the fall.

Math

Science

Social Studies

STEM

Academics - Multiple Subjects
  • Annenburg Learner - Variety of resources for STEM, Math, Science, Social Studies, and ELA. Resources include videos, online textbooks, unit guides, projects, and galleries.
  • Curriki - Teacher created academic resources in computer science, ELA, Math, Science, Social Studies, and Fine Arts.
  • Ignite My Future in School - Activities and lessons in Science, Social Studies, ELA, STEM, Math, and Fine Arts for middle school students.
  • Khan Academy - Academic support and tutorials for student in Math, Science, Social Studies, and ELA.
  • Library of Congress - Digital Collections at the Library of Congress.
  • Library of Congress Film and Video Collections - Collections of films and videos pertaining to history and music.
  • National Geographic - Videos, units, activities, lessons, etc., for Science and Social Studies.
  • ND Gifted Children - Resources for gifted learners.
  • NDOER Commons - Teacher created academic resources in computer science, ELA, Math, Science, Social Studies, and Fine Arts.
  • ND State Library - Digital resources and teacher guides for ELA, Science, and Social Studies.
  • Smithsonian Kids - Activities and resources for Fine Arts, Social Studies, and Science.
Academics-ND Studies
Assessment
  • ACT for Educators - ACT information for educators.
  • ACT for Students and Families - ACT information for students. The site includes practice activities to help prepare for the ACT.
  • AP Classroom - Information for AP teachers providing support for AP classes.
  • AP Students - The site includes instructional supports and AP exam practice for AP students.
  • ASVAB - Resources to aid in preparing for the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery Test.
  • Cognia Resources - Schools and districts can find helpful resources on administering, using, and interpreting Student Engagement Surveys and Strategy Maps to enhance their school's continuous improvement plans and guide school improvement initiatives.
  • College Board Educator Information - Information and resources related to the College Board's Suite of Assessments.
  • Counselor Toolkit - The site provides information to help students prepare for the ACT and resources to aid in college and career planning.
  • GED - Provides practice materials and online resources to assist in preparing for the GED test and earn your high school equivalency diploma.
  • Lesson Planning with Formative Assessment - Links to resources, lesson plans, units, and templates related to using Formative Assessment to help drive instruction.
  • Lexile and Quantile Tools - The site provides instructional tools for teachers based on Quantile and Lexile scores.
  • NAEP - Information and resources for educators in using NAEP questions and framework in the classroom. The site allows educators to search for questions, take sample tests, and create customized assessments for many subjects.
  • PRAXIS - Information and materials used in educator preparation for the Praxis test leading to certification in specific content areas.
  • PSAT Information and Resources - Information on scores, test content, test-taking tips, and practice tests.
  • SAT Practice - Online resources to help prepare for the SAT exam and college readiness.
  • TOEFL - The site provides information to help prepare for the TOEFL iBT Test for English Proficiency.
Counseling
Department of Health School Resources
Distinguished Teacher Exemplar
  • Distinguished Teacher Exemplar–Keeping student learning at the top of their minds, our network of North Dakota State Teachers of the Year stepped forward, offering innovative tips to improve instruction and ways to resolve some growing pains with distance learning. To continue this momentum, the Department of Public Instruction in July invited former State Teachers of the Year, STOY nominees, and other classroom leaders to discuss how they overcame the challenges that they met with distance learning. 
Early Childhood
Family Engagement
Funding
Health and Safety
Intervention
ND OER Commons
Re-Entry
Social and Emotional Learning
Special Education
Teacher Support - Professional Development
Transportation

National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT) –  Is the leading trade association in the student transportation industry, a vibrant and diverse community of people and organizations that share a passion for safe and efficient student transportation. 

National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation (NASDPTS) –  The purpose of the association is to provide leadership, assistance, and motivation to the Nation's school transportation community with the goal of providing safe, secure, efficient, economical, and high-quality transportation to school children on their trips to and from school and school-related activities.

National School Transportation (NSTA) – Is the leading resource for school bus transportation solutions. Our member organizations will be recognized as providing the safest, most secure, environmentally-responsible, and cost-effective school bus transportation services. 

Child Abuse and Educational Neglect

With the rapid exodus of children from schools to homes last spring, it seemed only fair to offer schools and families some ‘grace’ while everyone was making the sudden adjustment to distance teaching and distance learning. While Child Protection Services has continued to respond to reports of suspected child abuse and neglect throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we have now entered a new phase of varying models of teaching and learning, unique to each school district and family. The following guidance is offered around responding to reports of suspected child neglect involving educational neglect.

Guidance:

A school should first assure they are meeting all requirements set forth by the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the North Dakota Department of Health for safeguarding the health and safety of students.

North Dakota Compulsory Attendance law (N.D.C.C. 15.1-20-03) charges each teacher and administrator with enforcement of compulsory school attendance provisions, which include the school administrator’s review into the cause of absences. The administrator may determine educational neglect if:

  • A child is without proper education;
  • The reason for absences is not due primarily to a lack of financial means;
  • A person responsible for ensuring that the student is in attendance has not made substantial and reasonable efforts to comply with the requirements; and

There is reasonable cause to suspect that absences are due to actions or inactions by a person responsible for a child’s welfare.

The school shall review the cause of absences prior to reporting educational neglect as specified in N.D.C.C. 15.1-20-03. Educational neglect should not be reported when the person responsible for ensuring that the student is in attendance has made substantial and reasonable efforts to comply with the requirements but is unable to compel the student to attend school.

Since each school district is required to define an excused absence and is required to document a verbal or written excuse supplied by the student's parent, teacher, or school administrator that may be requested to verify a student's absence, documentation of excused absences (as well an attendance record) must be provided at the time educational neglect is reported or within 48 hours of making a report as required by N.D.C.C. 50-25.1-04.

At the same time, schools must define distance learning during COVID-19 what “school engagement” looks like to them. 

  • When school attendance processes have changed, student engagement remains paramount. During COVID-19 disruption, school districts and administrators should make sure regular connections are made with students and families.
  • Teachers and support staff should connect with all students to maintain their relationships, assist with issues and concerns related to assignments, and encourage full participation in continued learning opportunities.
  • Schools should identify students who were chronically absent pre-COVID-19 or otherwise identify, as required, additional needed support and determine if support can be provided in any way, including virtually.
  • School administrators and support staff should reach out to students who are not signing into online learning or engaging in other continued learning opportunities. 

Educational Neglect:

Educational neglect should be reported to Child Protection Services in your local Human Service Zone. This report may be concurrent with the reporting requirement for law enforcement.

When reporting suspected educational neglect, keep in mind that Child Protection Services can only become involved for reports of reasonable suspicion of non-compliance with the state’s compulsory school attendance law and not for any other reason, such as non-compliance with school policies or School District plans.

In addition to demographic information concerning the child, such as name, date of birth, race, etc. along with the parents’/caregivers’ names, address and contact information, other information that may be requested when speaking with Child Protection Intake includes:

  • Would the school be willing to go to the home if needed with CPS staff in the human service zone?
  • Are there any safety concerns?

(i.e. weapons, gang affiliations, pets, etc.)

  • Describe the nature and extent of the suspected educational neglect, including any available information on siblings
  • What did the child say about the concerns?
  • How is this harming the child(ren)?  How was the child(ren) affected?
  • What behavior is the child displaying?
  • How frequently is this happening?
  • How safe does the reporter believe the child is right now?  In the near future?
  • What do you think should happen/what made you decide to call today?
  • Is the parent/caregiver aware of the situation?  Has the reporter talked to the parent/caregiver about the concerns?
  • Who else was present? Who else knows about the situation? Who else might have useful information? What information might this person have? Do you have contact information for these individuals?
  • Has there been any law enforcement involvement?
  • Who are the family’s natural supports? (friends or family members if known)
  • Has the reporter or others tried to help the family? In what ways?
  • Describe any current or past involvement with services (if known) Who are/were the service providers and what services are/were being received/for whom? (if known)
  • What was the outcome of the services they have previously received? (if known)
  • Are there other stressors in the family? (if known)
  • What are the strengths of the family? (if known)
  • Are there other concerns?
  • Describe any action taken by the reporter.
  • The willingness of the reporter to share with the family his/her role in initiating the report or to participate in the assessment process (if appropriate)?

Helpful Sections of the child abuse and neglect law:

  • N.D.C.C. 50-25.1-02(1). Definitions.
    14. "Neglected child" means a child who, due to the action or inaction of a person responsible for the child's welfare:
     
    • a. Is without proper care or control, subsistence, education as required by law, or other care or control necessary for the child's physical, mental, or emotional health, or morals, and is not due primarily to the lack of financial means of a person responsible for the child’s welfare];
       
  • 50-25.1-04. Method of reporting.
    All persons mandated or permitted to report cases of known or suspected child abuse or neglect shall immediately cause oral or written reports to be made to the department or the department's designee. Oral reports must be followed by written reports within forty-eight hours if so requested by the department or the department's designee. A requested written report must include information specifically sought by the department if the reporter possesses or has reasonable access to that information. Reports involving known or suspected institutional child abuse or neglect must be made and received in the same manner as all other reports made under this chapter.

For questions or more information on educational neglect in North Dakota, please contact:

Joe Kolosky, Director
Office of School Approval & Opportunity