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Virtual Education Improvement Task Force
State School Superintendent Levi Bachmeier, with support from Dr. Alyssa Martin, state director of the North Dakota Center for Distance Education (NDCDE), and Dr. Rob Lech, superintendent of Jamestown Public Schools, is convening a small task force of administrators to strengthen virtual education in North Dakota.
The task force will include a mix of superintendents, high school principals, and high school counselors to ensure diverse perspectives from district and school leadership.
The task force will focus on two primary goals:
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Review and Improve Guidance. Members will review the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction’s current Virtual Education FAQs and collaborate to develop clearer, improved guidance for release in spring 2026, effective for the 2026–2027 school year. Prospective applicants should review the current FAQs prior to applying.
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Strengthen Outcomes and Collaboration. Members will identify strategies to improve student outcomes in fully virtual public academies and explore opportunities to strengthen collaboration among NDDPI, NDCDE, and North Dakota public school districts.
Work will begin in February, with the goal of finalizing updated FAQ guidance by the end of March. This timeline is intended to give districts adequate time to prepare programmatically and budgetarily.
Interested education leaders should apply no later than end of day Friday, Feb. 6.
BRIDGE FAQs & Updates
Q: When will special education staff get access to Infinite Campus?
A: A precise statewide timeline is still being finalized. However, the following is confirmed:
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TieNet will continue to be used through June 30, and Infinite Campus will replace TieNet for special education student information beginning in the 2026–27 school year.
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All TieNet data, including student records, completed documents, and in-flight forms, will be extracted and migrated to Infinite Campus. The exact timing for when that data will appear in Infinite Campus is still being finalized.
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District Infinite Campus implementation teams will provide guidance on when educators will receive access. Plans are also being developed to ensure special education work that occurs in July and August can be properly recorded during the transition.
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NDDPI’s Office of Specially Designed Services is working with the BRIDGE team and Infinite Campus to provide North Dakota-specific training in addition to vendor-provided training. Additional updates will be shared as timelines are finalized.
Q: Do schools need to back up their PowerSchool data before the transition?
A: When a district submits its NDIT PowerSchool Data Replication Request, all PowerSchool data is backed up on an NDIT-hosted environment for migration into Infinite Campus and maintained past June 30. This process is required and serves as the official data backup. No additional manual backups are required for districts. NDDPI will collaborate with NDIT to determine future plans for district data backed up in this environment. More information will be shared as the migration process continues.
Q: Will PowerSchool data still be accessible after the 2026–27 school year begins? A: Yes. Districts will continue to have access to their historical PowerSchool data after the transition to Infinite Campus. NDDPI will collaborate with NDIT to determine future plans for district data backed up in this environment. More information will be shared as the migration process continues.
Q: If a student leaves during the school year and returns the following year, will their historical data still be available?
A: Yes. Student historical records will remain accessible after the transition.
Q: What is happening with SLDS tools such as eTranscripts and Choice Ready? A: Earlier messaging indicated that SLDS-based solutions such as eTranscripts and Choice Ready were expected to continue functioning beyond June 2026. As more detailed discovery work has been completed, significant issues have been identified and confirmed. These tools will not be available in their current form or with their current functionality in July 2026. The BRIDGE team is actively working with NDIT and Infinite Campus to determine which functions may continue as-is, identify alternative solutions where needed, and develop clear guidance for districts. Updates, decisions, and plans will be shared as they become available, with the first update expected by February 13, 2026.
Q: Will NDDPI communicate with families about the transition from PowerSchool to Infinite Campus?
A: Yes. NDDPI plans to begin communicating with families this spring. These communications will focus on helping families become familiar with the functionality and benefits of a new student information system, understand how data informs instruction, and feel confident that their child’s data is secure and accurate. We also intend to share resources with districts that can be shared with students and families.
Office Hours
Join us for BRIDGE Office Hours, an open forum designed for district personnel and partners to get real-time answers about the BRIDGE project. This session provides a direct opportunity to submit your questions, clarify project details, and engage in conversation with the BRIDGE project team. Whether you’re looking for technical guidance, implementation support, or clarity on upcoming milestones, Office Hours are your chance to connect, collaborate, and stay informed.
If you missed the January Office Hours, you can access the recordings in the links below:
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ND Student Engagement Survey Window is Fast Approaching
The 2025–2026 North Dakota Student Engagement Survey (NDSES) will be open from Feb. 1–28, 2026.
This year, NDDPI updated and improved the survey based on feedback from students and educators to provide a more meaningful and relevant measure of student engagement across schools. Our statewide goal is 95% student participation so results accurately reflect the student experience at each school.
Students will access the survey through a link in the Quick Guide and in LaunchPad, the same single sign-on platform used for the ND A+ Summative and Interim Assessments.
NDDPI has also updated the NDSES FAQs and created new support tools, available on the ND A+ Portal under the NDSES tab.
For general questions about NDSES or accountability, contact Amanda Peterson.
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The Capitol Tablet: Special Session
They came. They saw. They voted. They adjourned.
The North Dakota Legislature finished its special session on Friday, Jan. 23. Lawmakers accomplished the session’s principal goal, which was to approve bills that will help the state collect its first $199 million installment of federal health care grants that are meant to assist rural areas.
Forness Named To ND Education Board
State School Superintendent Levi Bachmeier announced Thursday that Morgan Forness, superintendent of the Central Cass public school in Casselton, has been appointed to the State Board of Public School Education.
By law, membership on the board also gives Forness a seat on the state Board of Career and Technical Education, which supervises North Dakota’s Department of Career and Technical Education and its programs.
Forness succeeds Bachmeier, who was formerly one of six Board of Public School Education members who represent groups of counties on the board. Forness will represent Barnes, Cass, Grand Forks, Griggs, Nelson, Steele, and Traill counties. He will serve the remainder of Bachmeier’s term, which ends June 30, 2030.
Gov. Kelly Armstrong appointed Forness from a list of candidates submitted by the presidents of North Dakota United, the North Dakota Council of Educational Leaders, and the North Dakota School Boards Association.
Call for Nominations: K–12 Social Studies Standards Writing Committee
NDDPI will begin drafting new K–12 social studies standards this spring. To ensure broad statewide representation, NDDPI is using a nomination-based process to select members of the standards writing committee.
Superintendents are invited to nominate outstanding K–12 educators with strong expertise in social studies who can provide leadership and insight throughout the standards revision process.
Nomination guidelines:
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Each public school district and private school may nominate one teacher per 1,000 enrolled students.
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Districts with 3,000 or more students who choose to nominate teachers must submit nominations for at least one teacher from each grade level:
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Elementary (K–5)
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Middle School (6–8)
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High School (9–12)
The writing committee will include representation from all grade levels, district sizes, and geographic regions across North Dakota.
Course representation requirements:
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Middle School: Courses such as Ancient Civilizations, World History, World Geography, U.S. History, North Dakota Studies
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High School: Courses such as U.S. History, World History, U.S. Civics and Government/Problems of Democracy, Economics, Geography, North Dakota Studies, Psychology, Sociology
Educators who are nominated will receive an application to be considered for appointment to the writing committee.
Nomination deadline: Feb. 6, 2026
If you have questions, contact Davonne Eldredge at (701) 328-4525.
Translated Meal Applications Update
The USDA has archived its webpage containing free and reduced meal applications translated into 49 languages. At this time, it is unknown whether these translated applications will be updated or made available for the upcoming school year.
The North Dakota Department of Public Instruction has downloaded copies of the translated meal applications and parent instructions. The department also has USDA’s nondiscrimination statement translated into many of the most commonly spoken languages in North Dakota.
Translated meal applications are currently available in the following languages:
Albanian, Amharic, Arabic, Armenian, Bengali, Bosnian, Burmese, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Croatian, Farsi, French, Greek, Gujarati, Haitian Creole, Hebrew, Hindi, Hmong, Igbo, Ilokano, Iu Mien, Jamaican Creole, Japanese, Karen, Khmer, Korean, Kru Bassa, Kurdish, Laotian, Marshallese, Nepali, Pashto, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Samoan, Serbian, Somali, Spanish, Sudanese Arabic, Tagalog, Thai, Tigrinya, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, Yiddish, and Yoruba.
To request translated meal applications for families with limited English proficiency, please contact Child Nutrition and Food Distribution.
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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES |
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PowerSchool Prepare to Schedule Sessions
Districts are invited to attend upcoming scheduling support sessions designed to assist with early planning and preparation in PowerSchool. Sessions are available for new administrators, early schedulers, and returning districts.
Upcoming sessions:
These sessions will provide practical guidance, best practices, and opportunities for questions to help districts prepare for a successful scheduling cycle.
Hearing Assistive Technology Professional Learning Session
Education leaders are invited to a free professional learning session on Hearing Assistive Technology (HAT), hosted by the AT Builders Project, a collaborative initiative between the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction and North Dakota Assistive.
This session will provide a practical overview of FM (frequency modulation) systems, sound field systems, and other assistive listening devices, with a focus on supporting student access and learning in classroom settings.
Event Details
📅 Monday, Feb. 9, 2026
⏰ 1-3 p.m. CST
📍 Virtual – Join the meeting now
Meeting ID: 239 313 650 320 4
Passcode: eH2QD7NU
Educators and administrators who support students with hearing needs—or who want to learn more about assistive listening technology—are encouraged to attend.
Annual Title I Schoolwide Reporting for 2025-2026: Required Trainings & Resources
Updates on required annual reporting will be shared during the following webinars. All schools implementing schoolwide programming are strongly encouraged to attend. Schools in a schoolwide planning year are required to attend.
Upcoming Webinar
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📅 SAVE THE DATE! Thursday, March 26, 2026: Requirements for Annual Schoolwide Title I Reporting (link forthcoming)
Resources (Recordings & Slides)
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📅 Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026: Midyear Schoolwide Title I Reporting Review ▶️ Recording: click here | 📄 Slides: click here
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📅 Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025: TA/SW Record-Keeping/Monitoring ▶️ Recording: click here | 📄 Slides: click here
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📅 Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025: Schoolwide Comprehensive Needs Assessment ▶️ Recording: click here | 📄 Slides: click here
Questions? Contact Michelle Siegfried at (701) 328-3544.
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2026 Northern Dakota Personalized Learning Institute
The North Dakota Personalized Learning Network (ND PLN), in partnership with Northern Cass, invites educators to the 2026 Northern Dakota Personalized Learning Institute, held June 10–11, 2026, at Northern Cass School in Hunter, North Dakota.
This two-day institute features national and regional experts sharing practical strategies and real-world examples of personalized learning in action. Participants will engage in keynotes, breakout sessions, small-group collaboration, and coaching—leaving with an actionable plan to support personalized learning in their schools.
The conference is designed for administrators, teachers, and specialists, with sessions relevant across roles and content areas.
Registration: $170 per person ($145 per person for groups of five or more)
Optional graduate credit is available separately through Valley City State University and North Dakota State University.
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ND Best in Class Applications Open for 2026–2027
Applications are now open for the ND Best in Class (Four-Year-Olds) program for the 2026–2027 school year.
This program supports four-year-old classrooms by connecting teachers with fellow educators and providing access to resources, ideas, coaching, and ongoing support.
Best in Class focuses on:
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Classroom environment
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Curriculum and assessments
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Affordability
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Health and safety standards
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Screenings
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Coaching and professional development
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Family engagement
Funding ranges from $15,000 to $120,000 per section, based on group size and hours of operation.
Applications must be submitted by 5 p.m. CST on Friday, Feb. 20, to dhsec@nd.gov.
For questions, contact Shonda Wild at 701-328-1980.
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OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS |
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 America250: America’s Field Trip Contest
America’s Field Trip is a nationwide contest for students in grades 3–12, inviting them to respond to the prompt “What does America mean to you?” through an original piece of artwork or a written response. The contest is part of the national celebration leading up to the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
Students may submit one entry, which will be judged by educators based on student voice, clarity of ideas, and presentation.
Key details:
This is a unique opportunity for students to express their perspectives while engaging with American history and civic life.
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The NDDPI Messenger is sent out on a weekly or as-needed basis. Visit our website to view previous NDDPI Messenger/Weekly Blast bulletins.
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