13-05-2025
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.
