Latest news with #GrandForksPublicSchools
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Parents ask Grand Forks district to reconsider decision to prohibit Indigenous beadwork on graduation caps
May 24—GRAND FORKS — A group of parents are asking Grand Forks Public Schools to reconsider after they say district officials told Indigenous students they would not be allowed to wear traditional beadwork on their graduation caps. District policy does not allow adornment of graduation caps, but since 2015, the district has given an accommodation that allows American Indian students to wear eagle feathers for their graduation ceremony. Although beadwork is not specifically allowed, in past years, students have worn it without issue, according to Courtney Davis, a parent in the district and an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band. Davis said the district's request left her confused. "It felt like they're finally getting to a place where it was being understood and celebrated," said Davis, also a former Native American liaison for the district. "But now we've got to go back and suppress the students' ability to express their identity and their culture." The district's Native American Parent Committee plans to meet Tuesday to discuss the issue with district officials. Melissa Bakke, a spokesperson for the district, confirmed to the Grand Forks Herald that the graduates are expected to dress "in an appropriate manner," requiring cap, gown, tassel and shoes, and that "no other personal additions shall be allowed other than school-issued stoles of honor without prior permission of the administration." "At Grand Forks Public Schools, we value all students, including the meaningful traditions of our Indigenous communities," Bakke said in a statement. "With that in mind, we are actively exploring how Grand Forks Public Schools can continue to honor and celebrate all students in meaningful and respectful ways. ... As we review our practices, including those related to graduation ceremonies, our focus is on maintaining the dignity and formality of the event while ensuring it reflects the values of our GFPS school community." North Dakota Century Code says school districts may not establish a dress code that prohibits students from wearing traditional tribal regalia at graduation, and specifies that for the purposes of the law, regalia refers to an eagle feather or eagle plume. The law is written to give districts local control, said Davis, who successfully pushed for the eagle feather accommodation in Grand Forks as a district employee more than 10 years ago. The state law followed in 2019. Davis said she hasn't yet had a conversation with district officials about the issue, so she can't guess what the reason is for their decision on beadwork. In the past, those against allowing graduation cap decorations argued they could isolate or exclude some students, or could become disruptive. Davis and others in favor argue that graduation rates for American Indian students in the district and state are low, and allowing graduates to wear traditional adornment is an important way to instill a sense of pride. The district does offer an alternative graduation to celebrate the achievements of Indigenous students, Davis noted. Davis and other parents have been encouraging people in the district to write letters of support to district officials ahead of the Tuesday meeting. She has also been in touch with the Native American Rights Fund, which helped her change the district policy in 2015. She's hopeful for a positive conversation on Tuesday with district officials. "I just want to make sure that people are conveying why it's important and significant, in a good way," she said.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Grand Forks earns coveted 'gold star' in school accreditation process
May 12—GRAND FORKS — Grand Forks Public Schools received the highest classification possible in its recent accreditation process. Districts that earn that distinction not only check all the boxes set by Cognia, the nationwide accrediting body, but also get what Associate Superintendent of Secondary Education Cathrine Gillach called an extra "gold star" — a so-called "noteworthy practice" reflecting the greatest strengths of the institution. For Grand Forks Public Schools, that is its flexible, multi-tiered student support model. The data-driven model is designed to be dynamic and easily tailored to individual students' needs, and helps filter students into the best environment to facilitate success, whether that's small-group instruction or one-on-one time with specialists. "So we earned a gold star, a noteworthy practice there, which is something that we're really, really proud of," Gillach said. Accreditation is required by the state Department of Public Instruction to ensure districts are continuously improving and incrementally increasing student success. The last time Grand Forks Public Schools received accreditation was in 2020, just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Monday night's presentation was the culmination of a year of work involving district and school building leaders. Cognia looks for four key characteristics: what the district is doing to promote a culture of learning; how educators are leading around learning initiatives; what level of engagement can be seen at the student, teacher and classroom levels; and positive student growth and learning outputs. The district was evaluated through student and teacher focus groups as well as through presentation of district data and evidence. Cognia also outlined a number of areas where the district can improve, including: * Streamline the goal-setting process by integrating school improvement goals, School Board goals and school-based goals. * Increase student engagement by expanding opportunities for student voice and active participation in their learning. * Increase student use of digital resources by equipping teachers with targeted professional learning for effective integration. "These are things ... that we can implement quickly, that actually we have in motion right now," Gillach said. "We're not very far from making improvements on these actual standards." In other School Board news: * Century Elementary School was the featured school for the "Celebrating Success" portion of the meeting. Century Principal David Saxberg highlighted a number of successful programs at the elementary school, including Century School RED (Read Every Day) Event, where Century families are invited to come read with their students at the school building for 20 minutes at the end of a school day four times a year. Although the time isn't ideal for many working parents, at one recent RED Event, "We had cars lined up on the street past Lion Park," Saxberg said. "Any place they could find a place to park, they did." Superintendent Terry Brenner noted that it was likely Saxberg's last time before the board, as he is transitioning to another professional opportunity. Brenner thanked Saxberg for his years of dedication to Century students. * Dr. Holly Larson was recommended as the new principal of Century Elementary School beginning July 28. Larson began her career in 2007 with Lincoln Public Schools, and most recently worked as the associate principal at Valley Middle School. She has also worked as a behavior intervention coordinator and building resource coordinator at South Middle School, building behavior strategist at South Point Elementary in East Grand Forks, and school counselor at both the elementary and middle school levels. According to a recommendation letter given to the board, she was hired for, among other things, "her identity as a lifelong learner, her ability to approach challenges using data and systems thinking, and her strong foundation in putting students at the center of decision making." She was hired by a team led by Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Education Matt Bakke; 10 Century staff members, including teachers, paraeducators, literacy specialists, multilingual educators, special educators and administrative staff; and five district representatives. She will receive a salary of $117,523 for the 2025-2026 school year. * Lori Skattum was recommended as the new principal of Winship Elementary, also beginning July 28. Skattum has worked with Grand Forks Public Schools for 13 years, and is currently a special education coordinator. She also has experience as a speech-language pathologist for the district. In a recommendation letter, she was recognized for "her calm, approachable demeanor and her effective communication style," as well as her "deep knowledge of early childhood education, her experience managing complex systems across multiple sites and her strong organizational leadership as a special education coordinator. Bakke also led her hiring team, which also included seven Winship staff members, including teachers, paraeducators, literacy specialists, a librarian and administrative staff; and five district representatives. She will earn a salary of $110,396 for the 2025-2026 school year. * The board approved a number of project costs associated with safety and security enhancement projects at Wilder Elementary School. It approved a guaranteed maximum price of roughly $2.452 million and decided to include in the final project plans a $150,672 parking lot alternate. * The district activities department is considering requesting proposals for district athletic apparel. Activities Director Mike Biermaier says the practice isn't necessarily standard at the high school level like it is in higher education, but he believes that by streamlining the apparel acquisition process, the district could see cost savings. Currently, apparel purchasing is handled ad hoc by individual coaches. A request for proposals will be printed in the Herald on May 14 with a noon May 27 deadline, and will come before the board for consideration on June 9. * The board voted 7-1 to approve a Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) tax incentive for Cirrus Aircraft. If Cirrus' PILOT application is approved, it will receive a property tax exemption of 100% for 10 years to support the construction of its $10.5 million, 30,000-square-foot expansion to its current aircraft manufacturing facility in Grand Forks. The School Board approved the application with little discussion. The application will now go back to the Grand Forks City Council for final consideration and a public hearing at 5:30 p.m. June 2. * South Middle School Principal Travis Neil, and Title I Coordinator Theresa Ostgarden presented the middle school's Title I Schoolwide Planning overview to the board. Through the Title I program, the school receives federal funds to help support students who are struggling academically. To qualify, at least 40% of a school's student population must be from a low-income household. Among the school's "Be Legendary" goals for 2024-2025 school year are to increase language arts proficiency from 51% to 60% and math proficiency from 34% to 43% on the North Dakota State Assessment by September 2028, and to improve language arts proficiency from 49% to 56% and math proficiency from 40% to 47% on the Renaissance Star Assessment in the same timeframe.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Grand Forks school administrators seeking $1.6 million for new English curriculum
Apr. 28—GRAND FORKS — Administrators are asking the Grand Forks School Board for $1.6 million over the next seven years to pay for new English curriculum. Chief Academic Officer Amy Bartsch presented the request for $1,574,000, including $422,832 in its first year, to purchase Wit and Wisdom curricular resources from developer Great Minds for kindergarten through fifth grade, as well as separate reading and handwriting curriculum. Grand Forks Public Schools previously purchased a 13-year license for Great Minds' sixth-grade curriculum using Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief, or ESSER, dollars in 2023. School Board members approved the purchase of a nine-year license for the seventh- and eighth-grade curriculum in 2024. Bartsch and Associate Superintendent Catherine Gillach separately touted the curriculum as a key tool to boost the district's test scores in reading and early literacy, with Gillach saying she expected to see "exponential increases" in performance. "This is the product that we need to help us move our student achievement," Bartsch said. The $1.6 million purchase price also includes a seven-year license for Really Great Reading and Really Great Handwriting curriculum. (Cursive is still being taught in district schools, though it will shift from being taught in the third grade to the second grade in 2026-27, with it being taught to both grades next academic year.) A high school steering committee elected to write its own curriculum, after the committee decided high school-level commercial curriculums offered little new benefit. That committee asked the School Board for $294,000 over the next seven years for new textbooks, replacing current class texts and adding new novels, as well as continuing to pay for an instructional tool that teaches academic and practical vernacular — like, for instance, the meaning of the word "vernacular." Board members will vote whether to approve payment for the new curriculum materials at the next School Board meeting. Grand Forks Public Schools and the Air Force base school district performed well on their annual audits, Brian Opsahl of Brady Martz and Associates told board members. The district ended the 2023-24 school year with $11.4 million in its general fund, some 7.8% of its $132 million in expenditures last year. Opsahl said the district should endeavor to have reserves of 10% or more, though he noted bigger school districts "can have a smaller fund because the size is a lot larger." He also noted that percentage incorporated some of the district's capital spending, meaning its financial position was probably better than the audit let on. District leadership partook in a controversial cost-cutting effort last year in a bid to boost the district's reserves to 15% of operating expenses, though School Board members have since wavered on that goal. "Guys and Dolls" and "All Shook Up" will be this year's summer musicals, according to Summer Performing Arts Director Allison Peterson. Already, 865 students are registered to participate in the summer program, Peterson said, on par with previous years. The performing arts program performed well during this year's Giving Hearts Day, receiving a $6,000 award for having the highest donor retention in 2025. "Guys and Dolls" will be performed at Central High School, while "All Shook Up" will be staged at Red River. In other news: * Red River classroom specialist Tim Delmore was named the classified employee of the quarter, while South Middle School's Title I coordinator, Theresa Ostgarden, was named the certified employee of the quarter. * The School Board formally accepted the resignation of Century Principal David Saxberg, who resigned April 7 effective at the end of the year. Saxberg's resignation leaves two elementary principal positions open at the end of the school year with Viking Principal Jolyn Bergstrom also retiring. * The district's mental health coordinator, Christine Litzinger, is leaving the district for family reasons. * Board members entered executive session for less than an hour to discuss safety and security upgrades to district schools. Discussions of school safety plans are exempt from open meetings laws under North Dakota Century Code 15.1-09-60. * Board members also visited Red River to view its new front office, part of the $18 million in safety and security upgrades being implemented across the district.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Grand Forks Public Schools has recovered approximately half of $2.2 million swindled last year
Feb. 25—GRAND FORKS — Law enforcement has been able to recover more than half of the $2.2 million defrauded from Grand Forks Public Schools last summer, according to Business Manager Brandon Baumbach. Authorities were able to recover $1,296,935 of the more than $2 million defrauded from the district, and received an additional $100,000 payout from social engineering — otherwise known as phishing — insurance, Baumbach shared at Monday's School Board meeting. That leaves the district with a net loss of $842,730, taken from the district's building fund — meaning the loss has not impacted funding for day-to-day operations. Baumbach also shared that the fraudulent wire transfer took place on Aug. 16, and was discovered during the following billing cycle. A police report was first filed by the district on Sept. 13. In the aftermath of the discovery, Baumbach said, the district froze all external transfers, and contacted its bank, the Grand Forks Police Department and the Internet Crime Complaint Center, run by the FBI. He reiterated the fraud is an isolated incident, and that there is no reason to suspect internal fraud or embezzlement. He said staff followed internal protocols, but this had not prevented the fraud. "It is important to highlight the district personnel in the business office were victims of a crime," Baumbach said. While the district's IT system was not breached, Baumbach said administrators were providing new cybersecurity training and implementing multifactor authentication across the district. In response to a question from board member Amber Flynn, Baumbach said the district had looked into increasing its phishing coverage but found most insurers were unwilling to increase their coverage past $200,000. Grand Forks Police Department Lt. Andrew Stein told the Herald the fraud investigation remains active and ongoing. Police provided no new documents relating to the investigation in response to an open records request filed by the Herald. "It is true the investigation is not quite done, and it's my understanding it might not be for a long, long time. We thought an update to the community was deserved," Baumbach said. In other news from Monday's board meeting: * Board members decided redrawing school boundaries needs more time and resident input . * IT specialist Logan Corneliusen was honored as the classified employee of the quarter, while Lisa Vojacek, a Valley Middle School instructional coach, was the certified employee of the quarter. * Board members signed off on a Head Start Quality Improvement Plan. * Finance committee members are considering a request for proposal for new busing software capable of electronically tracking students and sharing bus route updates with families, among other improvements. * School Board members signed off on a bid with a guaranteed maximum price of $690,556 for safety and security upgrades to Lake Agassiz Elementary, coming in $85,571 under projected expenses. * The board also signed off on a plan to replace the district's aging Apple laptops by leasing new Macbook Airs. IT Manager Darin King said the district is pursuing resale options for its current laptops, which were purchased outright using federal coronavirus relief dollars. * The 2025-26 school year will begin on Wednesday, Aug. 26, for kindergarten through ninth-grade students and Thursday, Aug. 27 for 10th- through 12th-graders, and end for all on Thursday, May 28, 2026. Board members also tentatively OK'd start dates of Aug. 26 and 27, 2026, and an end date of May 27, 2027, for the following school year. * Board members approved establishing a virtual high school for district students, effective for the 2025-26 school year. * School Board members again found Terry Brenner's performance as superintendent to be satisfactory in his latest evaluation, though some board members dinged Brenner for not communicating proactively with them and again complained about the breadth of the evaluation.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Grand Forks officials, nonprofits relieved after Trump administration backs down from funding freeze
Jan. 29—GRAND FORKS — Local officials expressed relief after the White House backed down on an order to halt trillions of dollars in federal support. The Trump administration on Wednesday rescinded a budget office memo calling for a spending freeze on federal grants and loans less than 24 hours after the order was blocked by a federal judge. The broadly written memo, issued Monday, generated widespread confusion as federal agencies attempted to parse out what of their funding to halt and state and local entities waited anxiously to find out whether the flow of federal dollars would be interrupted. In Grand Forks, the White House order threatened to disrupt construction projects, university research, public transportation, plans to expand air service at Grand Forks International Airport and local efforts to combat homelessness. "I still don't understand the full intention of what the memo meant to do, so I'm glad they took a second to reassess their approach," said Brandon Baumbach, business manager at Grand Forks Public Schools. A little more than 10% of the school district's funding — more than $14 million — is set to come from federal sources this year. An Education Department spokesperson clarified Tuesday the funding freeze would not affect formula funding for low-income students, special education and the cost of operating the Grand Forks Air Force Base school district. That still left millions in funding up in the air, including a promised 80/20 federal match to build a new Nathan Twining Elementary and Middle School on the air base. After learning of the funding freeze, the district business office on Tuesday attempted to request a partial reimbursement for around $650,000 of design work on the base school, only to find themselves unable to submit the request through an online portal. Medicaid and Head Start providers nationwide reported similar difficulties accessing online federal reimbursement portals Tuesday, even though the White House later clarified those programs were supposed to be exempted. In Grand Forks, Head Start did not experience the disruption, according to Tracey Johnson, director of the local program. Baumbach said he planned to review discretionary grants received by the district and assess the likelihood they could be subject to a future hold by the Trump administration. "We're aware of some of the administration's thinking, so that will guide our own analysis and what we should be thinking about going forward," Baumbach said. "It alarmed us, and so it had our attention, and now it has our attention." The original memo, from the Office of Management and Budget, purported to target "Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies." City Administrator Todd Feland said federal funds pay for half of the city's operating costs for public transportation, which it receives via reimbursement in a similar manner to the school district. He said a protracted hold on federal funds could have disrupted summer road projects the city had not yet bid out as well as the $99 million expansion of the city's wastewater treatment plant. "If there was a long delay, we would have missed construction season," Feland said. It could have also delayed plans to add a new air carrier at Grand Forks International Airport, since the city has not yet received the $1 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation to fund start-up costs. Some were still parsing out the expected impact of the White House memo when it was rescinded. Grand Forks Public Health Director Tess Wall said her agency spent much of the last two days conferring with the state Department of Health and Human Services, which distributes federal dollars to local public health agencies like Grand Forks'. "It was a lot of waiting for clarity on specifics," Wall said. "There really wasn't enough information to make any action." Around 39% of Grand Forks Public Health's funding comes from the federal government, Wall said, and pays for programs like chronic disease support, early screenings for breast and cervical cancer, and its tuberculosis program. Grand Forks County officials had been working to determine if the freeze would affect the county Emergency Management Office or one of its Defense Department grants, County Administrator Tom Ford told the Herald in a Tuesday text message. As of Wednesday morning, UND administrators were still parsing through programs that could have been affected by the wide-ranging order. The Trump order had been expected to disrupt research grants from agencies like the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. Scott Snyder, vice president of research and economic development, told the Herald on Wednesday morning he'd received "relatively vague" messages from the NSF and the Department of Energy, and nothing from the NIH. The Trump administration ordered federal health agencies to pause all external communications last week, which Snyder noted had almost certainly contributed to the lack of a response from the NIH. UND had around $66 million in federal research expenditures during its 2023 fiscal year. Federal grants and contracts totaled more than $104 million for the university last year, according to Finance and Operations VP Karla Mongeon-Stewart. A statement attributed to university spokesperson Meloney Linder said UND was "pleased" to hear the freeze order had been rescinded and that the university would continue to monitor the situation. Derek Sporbert, director of UND's TRIO programs, had expected the federally-funded programs for low-income and first-generation students to shut down in a matter of weeks if the funding hold was not resolved. He told the Herald in a text message he was "relieved" the memo had been rescinded and that the situation emphasized the need to work with lawmakers to ensure the program's future. "Our ND legislators have always fiercely defended and supported TRIO in our area, and we realize that we work with students from all backgrounds and life situation(s) much broader than the scope of DEI or other types of programs," Sporbert wrote. The Monday budget memo explicitly mentioned DEI, or diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, which the Trump administration described as "illegal and immoral" in a Jan. 20 executive order. A hold on federal funds could have also disrupted efforts to confront homelessness in Grand Forks, to which the city has allocated much of its recent Community Development Block Grant funding. City Council's Committee of the Whole signed off on allocating CDBG capital funds to update the fire alarm system at Northlands Rescue Mission this week, Executive Director Sue Shirek noted. Many homeless providers in North Dakota had been unable to access funding while the freeze was in effect, Shirek said, which threatened to disrupt support to already vulnerable people. United Way Executive Director Heather Novak said the nonprofit is banking on $195,000 in CDBG funds to cover security and energy efficiency improvements to two apartment complexes the nonprofit recently purchased to house homeless families. Paying that out-of-pocket would mean less funding toward United Way's family assistance programs. The nonprofit is also worried about funding disruptions for the rental assistance and utility assistance it issues to keep struggling families from becoming homeless in the first place. Novak remains concerned how long the status quo would hold. "Right now, everything is changing so rapidly that you're kind of just a sitting duck," she said. "We're waiting to hear what's going to happen, and we'll pivot any way that things move."
