Missouri Ridge principal highlights test-score gains, new student supports

Dina Norby, principal of Missouri Ridge School, presented a progress report to the Williston Basin School District No. 7 board on Jan. 8, summarizing student testing trends, attendance and new programs at the kindergarten-through-fifth-grade building.

Norby said winter benchmark testing showed improvement from fall to winter across grade levels and subjects after the school moved its fall administration earlier in the year. "We pushed our fall test sooner so I could have data for you before Christmas," she said, and described a campaign to get students to “beat themselves” on re-testing. She told the board the school gained 12,514 points in the schoolwide I-Ready program from fall to winter and planned celebrations for students and classrooms that made the most growth.

The presentation included detailed item-level results from NDA Plus and the NDSA. Norby said Missouri Ridge performed at or above district averages in reading and language arts in several grades but that math scores are low across third through fifth grades and science results are weak districtwide. She told the board the district has scheduled a math professional-development specialist for January to support teachers.

Norby described no-cost and low-cost initiatives built around data-driven small-group instruction: K–2 and 3–5 strategist-led "win groups," use of specials teachers (STEM, music, PE) to lead instructional groups, and a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) structure called small block and big block for student review and intervention. She also described community-connect work that pulls in the nurse, student-resource officer and counselors when families need support outside school.

Board members praised the school’s staff culture survey results (on a 0–7 scale), noting scores above 6 on several items, and asked follow-up questions about transportation, testing timing and supports for advanced students. Norby said transportation ridership had dropped from an unusually high 85% new-student rate in 2023–24 to a lower number this year and that she did not have a definitive cause. She said the school intentionally created groups for accelerated students as well as those below grade level and cited programs such as March Mathness and campus-level STEM acceleration.

The presentation closed with a list of community events and family engagement activities, including a Title I parent meeting, backpack giveaways and cultural potlucks, which Norby credited largely to PTO volunteers.

Board members responded with congratulations and questions about continuing the earlier fall testing practice districtwide if results continue to look favorable.