Schroeder Middle School highlights student growth, counseling and extracurriculars after Blue Ribbon recognition

Schroeder Middle School presented its mission, student supports and recent assessment gains to the Grand Forks Public Schools board on Dec. 8, 2025, highlighting the combination of targeted instruction, counseling services and extracurricular involvement that staff say helped earn a Blue Ribbon recognition.

School Principal Dave Nowatzki and his team told the board Schroeder serves roughly 574 students in grades 6–8 and has seen enrollment growth over the past nine years. The presentation emphasized the school’s mission and values, its team-based middle-school structure, and targeted programming for students with special needs, including four in-school special education programs (emotional disturbance/disability, autism, intellectual disability, medically fragile) and an alternate learning plan.

The principal and assistant principal described instructional and behavioral structures meant to lift performance: daily advisory (“Raider time”), a flex-time intervention pilot that pulls small groups for targeted instruction, Wednesday professional learning time for staff and in-house coaching to focus teacher goals. The school shared assessment results the presenters said supported the Blue Ribbon recognition: on state assessments Schroeder reported higher proficiency rates than the district and state in several grades and subject areas, and year-over-year increases in proficiency in ELA and math.

Counseling staff described tiered support and preventive lessons taught quarterly to every student. Presenters said a targeted effort to support Native American students aims to reduce the share reporting no SEL strengths by 10 percentage points and to lower the proportion reporting critical academic needs. Counselors also highlighted Sources of Strength, a student-led suicide-prevention club that expanded from a dozen students to more than 100, and described community service projects, food drives and school events that leaders said strengthen student engagement.

Board members praised the school’s leadership and asked how lessons from Schroeder might be shared districtwide. Principal Nowatzki said staff conversations happen in content PLCs and early-release professional time, and noted some features — such as a strong instructional coach and team-based advisory — are in place across schools while other items reflect local context.

The presentation closed with brief questions from board members and congratulatory remarks. The board moved on to other business after the public comment period produced no speakers.