North Dakota

Viewpoint: Teacher Recruitment and Retention Task Force is a positive step

Published

2 years ago

February 14, 2024

Viewpoint: Teacher Recruitment and Retention Task Force is a positive step

It comes as a surprise to no one that North Dakota, like every other state in the nation, is in the throes of an unprecedented teacher shortage.

Longtime administrators will tell you that where once there were dozens of applications for each open position, they are now fortunate to receive one or two worthy applicants, if any. Many educators will tell you that K-12 education remains an honorable and vital profession with an ever-increasing level of stress. What both agree on is that the consequences of ignoring the teacher shortage are dire and that this challenge cannot go unmet.

That is why all of us at ND United are appreciative of

Gov. Doug Burgum’s creation of the Recruitment and Retention Task Force

. Through this task force, North Dakota can do what no other state has yet accomplished: end the teacher shortage and return respect and dignity to public education and the professionals who provide it.

There is not a single cause of the teacher shortage. It came about as the result of many factors. Among them is that public education, like many of our nation’s institutions, was thrust into the ceaseless churn of the culture wars. The notion that “all politics is local” became a moot point, and North Dakota became caught up in the national and irrational hysteria surrounding CRT, DEI, Common Core, and any number of things that were not – and are not – in evidence in our state. Teachers and librarians were dragged into this sociopolitical scrum caused by charlatans who have turned stoking ideological outrage into a lucrative grift. While those hucksters became influencers of ideologues who value sound bites over sound policy, teachers became worn down by unseemly accusations and insinuations that called into question their integrity and professionalism.

The Recruitment and Retention Task Force has the opportunity to reverse this slide. Through its work, the task force can make recommendations to the governor and Legislature to design policies that amplify the voices of educators and improve salaries and benefits that are commensurate with the important work they do every day. In addition, the task force can recommend improved working conditions with adequate staffing levels so that teachers and education support professionals are able to meet the needs of every child in their charge. Other recommendations should include creating meaningful and less burdensome pathways to licensure and using data to inform decisions on teacher recruitment and retention.

Burgum was right to form this task force, and he and the Legislature will be right to take its recommendations seriously. As a society, we do not do anything more important than educate our future. By continuing to ignore the teacher shortage or implementing strategies that nibble around the edges of policy, we are failing both our students and our future.

Now is the time for bold action. I am confident that with all stakeholders at the table, we can fulfill the promise of great public schools in every community in North Dakota.

Nick Archuleta is president of North Dakota United.

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North Dakota

Today in History: July 7, 1940 – War children routed to Grand Forks

Published

4 hours ago

July 7, 2026

Press Room

Today in History: July 7, 1940 – War children routed to Grand Forks

Today in History revisits the Sunday, July 7, 1940, edition of the Grand Forks Herald and highlights a story of five children being sent to Grand Forks who were fleeing the Blitzkrieg-threatened British Isles.

Five children, fleeing the blitzkrieg-threatened British Isles, will arrive in Grand Forks soon.

The five—two boys and three girls—are from Edinburgh, Scotland, and are second cousins of Rev. W. Murray Allan, minister of the Plymouth Congregational church. They will live at the Allan home.

Mr. Allan said the boys were from one family and the girls from another. Ten days ago Mr. Allan received a cable from the parents, whom he has not seen in 25 years, asking if he would care for them.

Although he has not had definite word, Mr. Allan said he presumed the children are en route to the United States now. He also has been in touch with the American Committee for European Children.

The children coming here are believed to be the first war refugees who will reach North Dakota. Several other Grand Forks families are reported considering offering their homes to British children.

Grand Forks Herald archive image of a Peggy Lane Shop advertisement as published on July 7, 1940.

Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of “staff.” Often, the “staff” byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.

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