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Fargo principal outlines Explorer Academy model as Williston Basin weighs local option
Summary
Emily Dillard, principal of Fargo’s Explorer Academy, told the Williston Basin School Board that the K–8 special-education school uses small, capped classrooms, sensory spaces and a staffed crisis team to support students with complex behavioral needs and to transition many back to neighborhood schools.
Emily Dillard, principal of the Explorer Academy in Fargo, told the Williston Basin School Board the academy is a K–8 public special-education school designed to "meet learners where they are academically, socially, emotionally, and behaviorally." The school’s classrooms are intentionally small — capped at seven students with one special-education teacher and two support staff — and the facility includes secured learning pods, sensory rooms, a STEM center and a sensory gym, she said.
Dillard said the academy groups students by characteristics and regulation needs rather than by grade, aiming to build skills that allow many students to transition back to their neighborhood schools. "Seeing kids go back to their neighborhood school is always our goal," she said, adding that staff provide side-by-side training and transition support to home-school teams.
Board members pressed for operational details. Dillard said the Fargo program enrolled 34 students with a 56-student capacity and that staffing includes 13 certified staff and approximately 40 support staff. She described a formal referral criteria that requires district teams to try classroom-based interventions, including a functional behavioral assessment and district behavior supports, for four to six weeks before pursuing referral to the academy.
On family outreach, Dillard said the academy employs an on-site social worker and partners with Nexus Path for targeted case management to connect families with community resources. Board members repeatedly framed the program as a "last-resort" option used when in-school interventions have been exhausted and emphasized that plans are made to reintegrate students when appropriate.
Administrators said district staff have visited Fargo and gathered materials to evaluate whether a similar Level D setting would fit local needs. Dr. Germanson told the board that officials are "walking this through" and that the district is early in planning. Board members said the potential to offer a local step-down placement could reduce reliance on out-of-district residential placements and keep students closer to families if a program is pursued. The board did not take formal action on the matter; staff said further research and planning will follow.
The board's discussion included questions about average length of enrollment, transition timelines and whether families face fees; Dillard said length of stay varies by learner and that costs to families beyond standard district responsibilities were "not specified."
