Gov. Doug Burgum today announced the creation of the Innovative Education Task Force to underscore North Dakota’s commitment to leading the nation in innovative education.
The core mission of the Task Force is to advance innovative initiatives in education, empowering authentic learning experiences that prepare students to be contributing global citizens and lifelong learners. The Task Force will also seek to highlight best practices and provide state government direction on policy development and alignment with the educational needs of the 21st century.
Originally announced in June at the Governor’s Summit on Innovative Education, the Task Force was established today through an Executive Order signed by Burgum with the goal of strengthening collaboration between teachers, students, parents, administrators, business and community leaders to foster genuine grassroots transformation. The Task Force is also empowered to solicit the expertise of educational leaders and citizens to help foster innovative educational practices in North Dakota.
“State and educational leaders across North Dakota recognize that a traditional teaching model, where knowledge transfer happened almost exclusively through books in a classroom, isn’t reflective of the 21st century,” Burgum said. “With most of the world’s expanding, abundant and real-time information available online, knowledge transfer can happen anytime, anywhere, and in a variety of ways. In order to help our students succeed in an global economy driven by dramatic, rapid and powerful changes in technology, we need to harness new approaches and new possibilities to provide students with innovative, project-based, experiential learning opportunities that better prepare them to be global citizens and lifelong learners.”
The Task Force will be comprised of education, youth development, business and community leaders who will be charged with creating a system of identification and support for schools and districts implementing innovative practices. It is also charged with providing direction on how state government can empower districts to adopt student-centric learning practices designed to support a 21st century economy impacted by rapid technological change.
Burgum added that the Sept. 1 approval of North Dakota’s plan for the Every Student Succeeds Act builds upon the innovative approach that teachers and school districts have already begun pursuing. The call for increased local control was answered by lawmakers with the adoption of Senate Bill 2186 during the recent legislative session, allowing school districts to submit individualized innovation plans for specified statutory waivers.
Individuals interested in serving on the Task Force should submit an application through the Boards section on www.governor.nd.gov by Oct. 4. Under “Navigation,” select “Application Form for Boards and Commissions,” and select “Innovative Education Task Force” in the drop-down list in the application form.
The first meeting of the Innovative Education Task Force will be Oct. 12 in the Governor’s Conference Room in the State Capitol, 600 E. Boulevard Ave., Bismarck.
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