Governor's Summit on Innovative Education emphasizes essential skills, choice-ready graduates

Governor Doug Burgum and fellow speakers at the sixth annual Governor’s Summit on Innovative Education on Thursday emphasized the importance of equipping students with the essential skills for life and learning and ensuring that graduates are choice-ready for college, career or the military.

The governor welcomed nearly 300 educators, students, administrators and community leaders to the daylong summit at Dickinson Middle School – the first time the summit has been held west of Bismarck. More than 500 people registered for the event, including virtual attendees.

Burgum highlighted how funding proposed in his Accelerate ND plan and approved by the state Legislature last year is investing $88 million into career academies across the state. The funding, which was awarded by the State Board for Career and Technical Education and must be matched with local funds from public and private partners, includes $3.3 million for the Southwest Area Career and Technical Education Academy in Dickinson.

“School districts, colleges and their community and private-sector partners are joining forces to create workforce centers that are inclusive of community needs, drive industry degrees that fill workforce gaps, and support employability skills and adult learning,” Burgum said. “These facilities have the potential to transform how education is delivered and received in our state.”

The featured speaker for the summit was retired Air Force Gen. Craig McKinley, who shared how the essential skills for life and learning are critical to the success and well-being of every child. The four-star general discussed his involvement with the National Commission on Social, Emotional and Academic Development report and how every adult can be a champion for kids.

McKinley also participated in an afternoon panel discussion with Joel Honeyman, vice president of global innovation for Doosan Bobcat North America, and Bismarck State College President Doug Jensen on the importance of ensuring that high school graduates are choice-ready.

Legislation approved last year gave school districts new opportunities to implement personalized, competency-based education and capitalize on innovation to drive student results, Burgum noted. This includes the “learn everywhere” bill, which allows graduation credits to be fulfilled through internships, apprenticeships, extracurriculars, clubs and other educational opportunities, and the “Pathways to Graduation” bill – the No. 1 recommendation provided by the Governor’s Innovative Education Task Force – which gives students additional flexibility in meeting graduation requirements.

“We encourage more schools to take advantage of the flexibility and tools made available through recent legislation to create lifelong learners, address our workforce challenges and strengthen North Dakota’s economy, communities and families,” Burgum said. “We’re deeply grateful to our state’s educators, school board leaders, parents and community partners for their commitment to creating a world-class education system in North Dakota.”

Burgum also presented the #InnovativeND Awards to the following individuals:

Frontline Innovation Award: Jerica Smith and Bryce Wygert, teachers and co-leaders of Future City, South Heart Public Schools

Collaborative Culture: Jake Snyder and Teresa Black Cloud, restorative practice leads, West Fargo Public Schools

System Transformation: Kerri Zahrbock, school counselor, Lisbon Public School District

Student Leadership: Dante Domine, president of Dickinson High School Student Council and vice president of Dickinson Youth Commission, Dickinson Public Schools

Pathways Innovation: Mackenzie Tadych, director of college, career and life readiness, Northern Cass Public School.

The Governor’s Summit on Innovative Education provides a platform to bring together stakeholders across North Dakota communities to share existing ideas and practices, inspire new ones and empower networks that support transformation. The free summit is part of Innovative Education Week, which includes IgniteND.

The 2023 Governor's Summit on Innovative Education will be hosted in West Fargo.

Burgum meets with Spirit Lake chairman, Devils Lake mayor to discuss health care access, rising lake level

Gov. Burgum, cabinet leaders and representatives from the Governor’s Office met Friday with Spirit Lake Nation Chairman Doug Yankton, Devils Lake Mayor Dick Johnson and U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer to discuss health care access, the rising elevation of Devils Lake and other issues important to the tribe and community.

During the meeting at Spirit Lake Casino, Burgum spoke about the need to address food deserts on reservations to expand access to healthy foods, and to pilot new approaches to community-based health care instead of trying to navigate the cumbersome federal health care system.

“We think we have an opportunity in North Dakota, working with the tribes and with the health care sector, the nonprofit side, to actually create a national model,” he said, advocating for greater collaboration to support tribal economies, health care and agriculture. “Whatever the conversation is, the State of North Dakota would like to be a part of it going forward, and we appreciate the invitation.”

Officials also discussed the elevation of Devils Lake, which has risen by 3.5 feet so far this year due to heavy precipitation and runoff over the winter and spring. On Thursday, the North Dakota Department of Water Resources began annual discharge operations of the two Devils Lake outlets to slow the lake’s rise and reduce flooding.

Friday's meeting also touched on tourism, which is a critical component of the economy in the Devils Lake area, as well as U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service land management. Also attending from the state were Governor’s Office Chief Operating Officer Tammy Miller and General Counsel Ryan Norrell, North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission Executive Director Nathan Davis, Department of Human Services Executive Director Chris Jones, Department of Water Resources Director Andrea Travnicek, Game and Fish Director Jeb Williams, and Maria Effertz Hanson, director of the Division of Community Services in the Department of Commerce.

Sanford touts benefits of NAWS as Water Commission approves $61.2M in cost-share for water projects

Lt. Gov. Brent Sanford highlighted the benefits of the Northwest Area Water Supply (NAWS) project after the State Water Commission on Tuesday approved $61.2 million in cost-share requests for several municipal, regional, and rural water supply projects, as well as projects related to flood control and general water.

The Water Commission supports local sponsors in development of sustainable water-related projects in North Dakota through the Department of Water Resources (DWR) Cost-Share Program.

The largest cost-share approval at Tuesday's meeting included $46.6 million in federal Municipal, Rural and Industrial (MR&I) Water Supply Program funding for NAWS. The funding will be used to continue advancements on the Biota Water Treatment Plant near Max and for Minot Water Treatment Plant Phase III efforts. Once completed, at least 16 public water systems and 81,000 people will be served by NAWS.

“Providing Missouri River water to northwest North Dakota, including Minot, is vitally important and has been a long time coming, from the initial authorization of NAWS in 1986 to numerous legal and other challenges that had to be overcome,” said Sanford, who chaired Tuesday's meeting. “We’re grateful to the State Water Commission and DWR for their continued support of NAWS and other cost-share projects, making them more affordable to local residents while providing essential water supplies, flood protection and other critical infrastructure that supports long-term economic and community growth.”

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Burgum, Hawaii Gov. Ige stress importance of computer science education in joint op-ed

Gov. Burgum and Hawaii Gov. David Ige recently co-authored an op-ed piece on the importance of computer science education to the nation's future.

The governors note that while 44 other countries require computer science, only 51% of U.S. public high schools offer any such courses – a factor in a U.S. software engineer shortage the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts will increase to nearly 1.2 million by 2026.

"In North Dakota, we’re proud to be the first state to integrate computer science and cybersecurity standards for K-12 students," Burgum stated in the op-ed. "North Dakota also passed legislation making it the first state to authorize a central, shared service approach to cybersecurity strategy across all aspects of state government including state, local, legislative, judicial, K-12 education and higher education sectors. Over the past three years, the percentage of public high schools statewide offering computer science classes nearly doubled. Almost 100% of North Dakota students have home access to high-speed broadband, which helped tremendously during the pandemic, and demonstrates the importance of closing any digital divide between rural and urban access."

To read the full piece, click on the link below.

Read the op-ed

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