Warwick School Board recognized at Governor's education summit

On Tuesday, Aug. 15, Gov. Doug Burgum welcomed hundreds of educators to the seventh annual Governor's Summit on Innovative Education at Cheney Middle School in West Fargo.

The summit highlighted how North Dakota is focusing on the Building Blocks for Success to improve outcomes for students.

The Warwick Public School Board was recognized for its participation in the Be Legendary training program. They were honored "for their leadership and commitment to ensure each student, each year, continuously improves in what they know and are able to do, so they are prepared to be successful in whatever they choose to do after their K-12 journey."

At the summit to receive the award from the N.D. Department of Public Instruction was Dean Hagen, the shop instructor for Warwick Public School.

In his address, Burgum explained how the state is investing in the Building Blocks for Success, five key strategic themes identified by the North Dakota PK-12 Education Steering Committee:

1) quality early childhood experiences; 2) support for safe and healthy behaviors; 3) career awareness, exploration and development; 4) quality education personnel; and 5) quality student-centered instruction in driving positive outcomes for students, educators, communities and the state.

The governor also highlighted legislation and policies approved since 2017 to provide school districts with flexibility to enhance student-centered, personalized learning, including innovation waivers; a choice-ready framework to prepare students for college, career or the military; Learn Everywhere, which allows graduation credits to be fulfilled through internships, apprenticeships, extracurriculars, clubs and other educational opportunities; and Graduation Pathway, which made North Dakota the first state in the nation with legislation that allows competency-based education built on student proficiency and mastery of standards to count toward a high school diploma.

"No other states have offered this menu of opportunity up to their K-12 system. What are we going to do with it?" Burgum said in his remarks, encouraging more districts to take advantage of the tools available. "Thanks for being involved in education. It's so important what you're doing, and that's why we're so passionate about trying to make sure that we can make a difference for all (students)."

Nearly 500 individuals registered to attend the free one-day summit in person and an additional 150 registered for the virtual option.

The governor also announced recipients of the #InnovativeND Awards throughout the day. The categories and recipients are:

• Frontline Innovation – Mendi Blake, special education teacher in West Fargo Public Schools

• Collaborative Culture – Michelle Candy, teacher at Two Rivers Education Center, North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

• System Transformation – Tom Klapp, Beth Head and Luke Bush, Northern Cass School District

• Student Leadership – Aidan Pelton, who will be a junior this fall at Watford City High School and serves as a mentor in the Little Buddy Program

• Pathways Innovation – Denise Jonas, director of the Cass County Career and Technical Education Center