November will host our fall parent-teacher conferences and signifies the start of the second nine weeks and the transition into our winter season and the corresponding winter activities and, unfortunately, challenging winter weather. We have navigated our first winter weather storm which typically shifts our thoughts to all levels of winter events such as winter concerts and our traditional winter extra-curricular activities, while reminding us of the fast timeframe in moving toward the winter break and the end of the 2023 calendar year. We are proud of our students, parents, and educators for the successful completion of the first quarter of 2023-2024 and look forward to a successful second quarter of the school year.
The school district is continually promoting and encouraging parental involvement at all levels as part of our strategic plan and continuous improvement processes. The school district will be providing a parent survey as part of a parent-teacher conference to solicit feedback on the educational services provided in your school building and opportunities for improvement in any particular area. Constructive feedback and discussions are encouraged at all levels and can lead to improvements and an overall better environment for students and staff; we strongly encourage parents and guardians to participate in student/school activities and our parent advisory committees exist at each building level. Parents are an essential component in the educational process and a student’s ability to participate in school-sponsored activities. Our goal is to make your participation in such activities efficient and accommodate busy schedules within family structures. Parent participation and support can be present in many forms. We hope each family in our school district is comfortable reaching out to their building or district administration for questions, suggestions, or concerns to address them directly and work toward resolution and ensure accurate information is present in all situations. Students and high-quality education are the top priority in ensuring each student/family has access to all the resources available to them.
An update regarding the status of the Bakken Area Skills Center and its role in the school district and community workforce training is also appropriate for this month’s newsletter. The BASC facility will be completed by the end of December with classes proposed outside of the Center itself starting in mid-January 2024. The facility is the center of the Bakken Areak Skills Center Regional CTE center that includes 10 school districts and has been in operation since July 1st, 2023. The regional center provides K-12 classes to member school districts in a virtual or online format with the capacity for mobile trailers and other resources to support the classwork with hands-on experience. The current curriculum focus is on the areas of Building Trades (CDL), Automation (IT), Aviation (UAS), and Health Careers, with expansion into other areas starting in the fall of 2024. The BASC facility will also accommodate post-secondary and workforce specific training as coordinated by outside entities, such as TrainND or post-secondary partnerships potentially through WSC and/or BSC. Those opportunities may begin as soon as the winter/spring of 2024 with several other opportunities under consideration at this time. Once the facility is completed, the potential for its utilization to address education and training at all age levels is virtually unlimited, including opportunities previously unavailable in our region. Businesses or entities interested in partnerships or utilization of the BASC in some capacity, please reach out to the District Office at any time for more information.
Lastly, the storm day cancellation on October 26th will be made up on January 15th, the first designated storm day included in the 2023-2024 school calendar. The intent of the storm days included in the school calendar is to provide a make-up option for cancelled in-person days and ensure the highest quality instructional delivery method is provided within the planned 173 student contact day calendar. Virtual options are available. However, the intent is to use the make-up days prior to using the virtual days due to their limited effectiveness and burden on families to facilitate instruction on these days. We recognize in-person instructional days are the best for students, families, and taxpayers and the intent to make-up cancelled days is in the best interests of the students and families. When the make-up days are exhausted or no longer available for any reason, the virtual option will be considered when applicable. The late start(s) and early dismissal(s) will not immediately qualify for make-up designation and will be considered in their totality later in the school year.
Since November is Thanksgiving month, the school district expresses a sincere “thank you” to all our students, families, citizens, and general supporters of our school district. We are grateful for the ongoing support and the opportunity to work with a growing number of students each school year. Thank you!