The District Insider
Volume 6, Issue 8 | March 2019
Two Grand Forks Central High School seniors have been named state nominees for the U.S. Presidential Scholars in Career and Technical Education (CTE) Program.
Kyle Hogland and Mandy Williamson were named two of the five high school seniors in North Dakota to compete for the distinction.
“Grand Forks is very proud to have two of the five state nominees for the U.S. Presidential Scholars in CTE Program. It is a testament to the high quality of our CTE programs, staff, and students,” said Eric Ripley, Executive Director of Career and Technical Education. “Kyle and Mandy are outstanding representatives both of the CTE department and the school system.”
Other students named state nominees are Jaydan Andrud (LaMoure), Jack Boub (Fargo), and Brian Friedt (Harvey).
Each of the students has completed a CTE coordinated plan of study or career pathway, have a minimum 3.0 grade point average and 3.25 grade point average in their CTE coordinated plan of study or career pathway, and have demonstrated technical competence, employability, ingenuity, creativity, and problem-solving skills.
State nominees will now be reviewed by a committee of qualified individuals experienced in career and technical education. The committee will choose 60 applicants to be named as semifinalists. The 60 CTE semifinalist applications will then be reviewed by the Commission on Presidential Scholars. All 2019 U.S. Presidential Scholars will be selected by the Commission on Presidential Scholars and will receive the Presidential Scholars Medallion at a ceremony in their honor in Washington, D.C.
Since the Presidential Scholar in CTE Program began in 2015, Grand Forks Public Schools has at least one state nominee each year, with a total of 13 out of 25 nominees.
In 2017, Evan Welsh (Grand Forks Central High School) was named a U.S. Presidential Scholar in Career and Technical Education (CTE), one of only 20 students nationwide to receive the honor in the CTE category that year.
Thank you to all of our student groups, employees, community members, and friends who donated to the Grand Forks Foundation for Education on Giving Hearts Day, which was February 14! Nearly $68,000 was raised to purchase a large passenger vehicle that will help transport our at-risk, homeless, and foster care students to and from school, as well as purchase bus tickets to support our students in financial distress! This goal was met due to the hard work of many, and Grand Forks Public Schools and the Grand Forks Foundation for Education thanks each and every person who donated, shared with a friend, and was a "Giving Heart"!
West Students Are Rolling!
"I can't wait to go home and shovel and skateboard in the driveway!," was a comment Mr. Evan Pederson (Physical Education teacher at Lake Agassiz and West elementary schools) heard at West earlier this week. Mr. Pederson wrote a grant to the Grand Forks Foundation for Education this fall for funds to purchase skateboards to introduce the first skateboarding class in the elementary physical education curriculum. Thanks to the Foundation for Education grant and assistance from Safe Kids Grand Forks, Mr. Pederson had the opportunity to introduce something new to our students!
Musical Middle Schoolers
Congratulations to the following middle school students who were selected for the State Middle Level Orchestra, which was held February 8th-9th at Discovery Middle School in Fargo (pictured left-to-right): Emma Stevenson (Valley), Annika Presting (Valley), Carter Byron (Elroy Schroeder), Cami Antonenko (Elroy Schroeder), Emily Nelson (Elroy Schroeder), Cayden Jacobson (Elroy Schroeder), Gabriella Campani (South), Megan Schill (South), Sadie Hillman(Elroy Schroeder), Matthew Moe (South), Cade Lindseth (Valley), Ryan Nordhagen (South), Curtis Sande (Valley), Quinn Roehl (Valley), and Morgan Hartze (South) (photo and information courtesy Rebecca McFarlane).
KnightRider Swim-A-Thon Success
On Saturday, February 16th, the KnightRider Boys' Swim Team held its 11th Annual Swim-a-Thon. For eight hours, members swim and collect pledges for their efforts. This year, the Masters Swim Team joined for an hour to kick off the event. In total, swimmers racked up over 177 miles and raised $5,000 thus far. Seventy-five percent of all the funds collected will go to support Special Olympic athletes of Grand Forks (photos and information courtesy Jessie Erickson).
- 2019 Girls’ Gymnastics Champions (Grand Forks KnightRiders)
- 2019 Girls’ Gymnastics All-EDC Team (Katie Blackmun, Rebekah Kauffman, Julia Miller, Sydnee Spivey, Charisse Vetsch – Grand Forks Central KnightRiders)
- 2019 Girls’ Gymnastics Outstanding Senior Athlete of the Year (Charisse Vetsch, Red River High School)
- 2019 Girls’ Hockey All-EDC Team (Payton Kriewald, Grand Forks KnightRiders)
- 2019 Boys’ Hockey Champions (Grand Forks Central High School)
- 2019 Boys’ Hockey Outstanding Senior Athlete of the Year (Cole Hanson, Grand Forks Central High School)
- 2019 Boys’ Hockey Coach of the Year (Grant Paranica, Grand Forks Central High School)
- 2019 Boys’ Hockey All-EDC Team (Connor Arel, Red River High School; Nate Bradbury, Red River High School; Hunter Bjorge, Grand Forks Central High School; Cole Hanson, Grand Forks Central High School; Brandon Holt, Grand Forks Central High School; Lucas Kanta, Grand Forks Central High School; William Lawson-Body, Grand Forks Central High School;Tyler Savage, Red River High School)
- 2019 Boys’ Wrestling Coach of the Year (Jeff Welsh, Grand Forks Central High School)
- 2019 Boys’ Wrestling Champions (Grand Forks Central High School)
Congratulations to our student-athletes, coaches, and teams on their North Dakota High School Activities Association (NDHSAA) awards!
- 2018-2019 Team Scholar Award Recipients (Grand Forks KnightRider Gymnastics and Girls’ Hockey Teams)
- 2019 Boys’ Hockey Champions (Grand Forks Central High School)
- 2019 Boys’ Hockey All-Tournament MVP (Lucas Kanta, Grand Forks Central High School)
- 2019 Boys’ Hockey All-Tournament Team (Hunter Bjorge, Grand Forks Central High School; Cole Hanson, Grand Forks Central High School; Tucker Hodgson, Grand Forks Central High School; Lucas Kanta, Grand Forks Central High School)
- 2019 Girls’ Hockey All-Tournament Team (Shaley Jo Richards, Grand Forks KnightRiders)
- 2019 State Debate (Division I Lincoln-Douglas Debate quarterfinalist (Oliver Dalmi, Grand Forks Central High School); Division II Lincoln-Douglas Debate quarterfinalist (Michal Kolb, Grand Forks Central High School); Division III Lincoln-Douglas Debate semi-finalist (Adam Swartz, Grand Forks Central High School); Division I Public Forum Debate quarterfinalists (Collin Polasky and Ryan Prusak, Red River High School).
Congratulations to our student-athlete and coaches on their North Dakota High School Coaches Association (NDHSCA) awards!
- 2019 Boys’ Hockey Senior of the Year (Cole Hanson, Grand Forks Central High School)
- 2019 Boys’ Hockey Coach of the Year (Grant Paranica, Grand Forks Central High School)
- 2019 Gymnastics Coach of the Year (Courtney Engel, Grand Forks KnightRiders)
2019 North Dakota High School Activities Association Boys’ Hockey Champions: Grand Forks Central High School
2019 Eastern Dakota Conference Girls’ Gymnastics Champions: Grand Forks KnightRiders
2019 Eastern Dakota Conference Boys’ Wrestling Champions: Grand Forks Central High School
Administration
- High School Principal - Grand Forks Central High School
Certified Staff
- Family & Consumer Sciences Teacher - Valley Middle School
- Grades 1-3 Classroom Teachers
- Resource Educator - Grand Forks Central High School
- Resource Educator - Red River High School
- Grades 4-5 Classroom Teachers
- Special Education Teacher (Autism) - Phoenix Elementary School
- Special Education Teacher (Emotional Disturbance) - Elroy Schroeder Middle School
- Early Childhood Special Education Teacher - Phoenix Elementary School
- Special Education Teacher - Valley Middle School
- Special Education Teacher - Lake Agassiz Elementary School
- Health Teacher - Grand Forks Central High School
- School Psychologist
- School Psychologist Intern
- School Counselor - Grand Forks Central High School
- Social Science Teacher - Grand Forks Central High School
- Physical Education Teacher - Grand Forks Central High School
- School Counselor - Community High School
- Vocal Music Teacher - Red River High School
- English Teacher - Red River High School
- Science Teacher - Valley Middle School
- Physical Education Teacher - South Middle School
- English Teacher - Elroy Schroeder Middle School
- Medical Careers Teacher - Grand Forks Central High School
- Marketing Education Teacher - Grand Forks Central High School
- Marketing Education Teacher - Red River High School
- Business Education Teacher - Red River High School
- Special Education Teachers (50%) - Lake Agassiz Elementary School
- Create a Teacher Application
Support Staff
- School Secretary (Part-Time) - Lake Agassiz Elementary School
- Nurse (on-call) - Head Start
- Production Supervisor - Child Nutrition
- Carpenter
- Custodian (part-time)
- Safety Officer - Grand Forks Central High School
- Sign Language Facilitator
- Early Childhood Special Education Paraprofessional
- Instructional Paraprofessional Application Pool
- Lunchroom Paraprofessional Application Pool
- Special Education Paraprofessional Application Pool
- Para - After School Encore Program Application Pool
- Title I Paraprofessional Application Pool
- Food Service Worker/Cooks Application Pool
Coaching
- Head Boys' Hockey Coach - Red River High School
- Assistant Gymnastics Coach
- Assistant Boys' Basketball Coach (C Squad) - Grand Forks Central High School
- Freshman Boys' Basketball Coach - Grand Forks Central High School
- Assistant Volleyball Coach (C Team) - Grand Forks Central High School
- Assistant Volleyball Coach (JV) - Grand Forks Central High School
- Girls' Softball Coach - Grand Forks Central High School
- Middle School Athletic Coach Application Pool