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Grand Forks to open Virtual High School next year with 26 students enrolled for pilot year
Summary
District administrators updated the board on the Grand Forks Virtual High School, reporting 26 students enrolled for the program's first year and outlining staffing, academic integrity measures and entry/exit rules.
The Grand Forks School Board heard an update on the district's new Grand Forks Virtual High School, which is slated to open to students in grades 9 through 12 next school year and currently has 26 students enrolled in an initial pilot group.
"We are poised to open those virtual doors coming next school year," said Dr. Glatch, who presented the program scope and staffing at the board meeting. The 26 enrolled students include 13 from Grand Forks Central, 11 from Red River and two listed as homeschool; 10 of the 26 students have individual education plans, and the program model is built to support IEP minutes.
District leaders said they have hired an online manager at 0.2 FTE (Andrea Altepeater) and an online mentor teacher (Kristi Sandbeck) to oversee student pacing, mentor meetings and academic support. The district will use an asynchronous platform (Edgenuity) for most coursework and will require live key assessments and project-based presentations to preserve academic integrity.
Dr. Glatch described entry and exit flexibility: students can enroll with traditional entry points and the district plans second-semester enrollment windows; students struggling in the online environment may be moved back to face-to-face instruction with interventions and transitions handled by the mentor team.
Board members asked about course availability and costs. Dr. Glatch said most courses the district offers in person will be available online; however, some elective or CTE courses that the district does not offer online may require North Dakota Center for Distance Education (NDCDE) enrollment. "The North Dakota Century Code states that if a course isn't offered, then the district is required to pay for it through NDCDE currently," Dr. Glatch said.
The online program will follow the district calendar; staff noted that unlike face-to-face schools, students in strictly online enrollment may not receive inclement-weather days off because their instruction continues online. The board was told that the district intends to grow the program over time and to build online communities of practice for student collaboration.
Dr. Glatch said the program will limit course load pacing (students will typically take two and sometimes three classes at a time) and will require weekly mentor meetings to align pacing with family and student needs. The mentor teacher will also control release of modules and meet regularly with families during initial onboarding.
No board action was required at the meeting; the presentation was placed on the record for discussion.
