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Consultant: ND does well in K-12 education, but there's room for improvement

A consultant to the Department of Public Instruction’s statewide k-12 “visioning process” says North Dakota does well in terms of providing education – but there is some room for improvement.  

Martha Taylor Greenway is the president of Greenway Strategy Group. She said she’s working with a group of educational leaders chosen by DPI – and the group is working on a “strategic plan” for K-12 education.

Greenway said the group is looking for a shared vision – to make sure all students are “choice ready.”

"Regardless of their interest in entering the workforce, entering college or entering the military, they're prepared for that," Greenway said in an interview.

Greenway said within that rramework, the committee has been looking at some needs that were not being met – and where the state has a number of opportunities to improve.

"The graduation rate in North Dakota is among the highest in the nation,' Greenway said. But there's always room for improvement."

Greenway pointed out Minnesota has a better graduation rate than North Dakota.

"When we look at certain groups of North Dakota students, particularly those that are Native American students, or lower-income, there are some dramatic differences in their levels of performance," Greenway said. "In some cases, they're actually lower than the national average."

Greenway said the idea is to come up with plans to make improvements.

"What we're talking about is moving from being an above-average performer to being one of the premiere education states in the United States," Greenway said.

Greenway briefed the Legislature’ interim Education Policy Committee on the work of the visioning group.