by Alyssa Martin, Ph.D., NDCDE
On behalf of the North Dakota Center for Distance Education (NDCDE), I extend the warmest greetings as you prepare for the upcoming school year. As homeschool families, you are likely making those final, often difficult decisions about curricula, delivery methods, daily schedules, meeting state legal requirements, and finding opportunities to connect your students to co-curricular and extracurricular activities in your community. I can relate-I often assisted my mother with this annual planning for home-educating my youngest brother. Through this direct experience, I gained a deep appreciation for the power of educational choice.
Early in my brother’s education, several teachers identified him as not entirely fitting the mold. This predated terminology that is now common among special education professionals, such as “on the spectrum” and “autistic.” The teachers simply sensed something was different about him, were unsure of how best to respond, and, with large class sizes and limited paraprofessional support, recommended placement in special education classes. My mom tried her best to prevent this placement from happening and to make traditional schooling work for my brother, having seen its success for her other children. Still, despite volunteering in my brother’s classroom, spending extensive time reteaching him every night, and trying to equip him with strategies to adapt, she could not be in the classroom with him constantly. Ultimately, this fueled her decision to homeschool.
My mother found resources through a local homeschool organization, and despite the significant financial commitment, my parents decided to purchase a complete correspondence curriculum. Videos and course material were regularly sent to our home, and completed assignments were returned to a licensed teacher for grading. My brother flourished under this arrangement, instilling in me a fundamental belief that education simply cannot be delivered with a one-size-fits-all approach. My mother’s relief and hope that came with finding the right educational approach for my brother was palpable, and it’s a feeling I wish for all homeschool families.
I assumed my role as the state director for NDCDE in August 2022, transitioning from my previous position as the assistant vice president for academic affairs at the University of Mary, a private institution in Bismarck, ND. I was attracted to NDCDE for many reasons: most importantly, it gave students and families educational choice; it allowed me to return to K-12 education, where I spent ten years early in my professional career; and I had recently spearheaded an initiative at the university to identify and implement standards for quality online education in a strategic effort to grow enrollment, which brought deep fulfillment. Although I am a lifelong North Dakota resident, before applying for the NDCDE director position, I had not heard of this state school. I still regret this knowledge gap as my family would have undoubtedly benefitted from the services it offers.
NDCDE is the only statewide virtual school in North Dakota, serving as a supplementary education provider to K-12 school districts and homeschooled families. It educates students not only in North Dakota but also across the country and world, with content delivered by North Dakota licensed teachers who provide individualized instruction in an asynchronous, self-paced format. NDCDE is Cognia accredited and offers courses piecemeal or as part of a high school diploma program. We purchase curricula from vendors known for creating high-quality, engaging content, and our in-house content experts and instructional design team tailor the courses to align with North Dakota priority learning standards. Our teachers, who are education leaders, often participate in the state-level committees that establish these standards.
NDCDE course offerings include those required by North Dakota state law and those aimed at equipping students for post-secondary matriculation and the workforce, with a strategic effort currently underway to increase the number of dual credit and industry certifications offered. To help evaluate and further enhance the quality of education at NDCDE, we are moving to a competency-based framework under which we will continue to issue final letter grades but also closely monitor and report on students’ level of proficiency under North Dakota’s priority standards.
With the above as our educational framework, NDCDE provides a myriad of benefits to homeschool families. First, and likely of high importance to homeschool families, we value transparency. You’ll find a complete syllabus for each of our courses available for your review in our store, and once enrolled in a course, you’ll be able to review all the material covered in it. Second, we aim for affordability. Most of our courses are $259 for North Dakota students and $349 for out-of-state students. Except for some dual credit courses, none of our courses require textbooks, and we limit material lists to only what is needed, with strong consideration towards requiring only budget-friendly items. We allow families to select their proctor outside of their immediate household, referred to as a learning coach, and provide both the learning coach and parent with access to dashboards showing student progress and outcomes. Our instructors also monitor these metrics, help coach students through our courses, provide timely feedback, and are strongly encouraged to schedule individual meetings with students to deliver truly one-on-one instruction.
I often wonder what additional doors may have opened for my brother and family had we known about NDCDE. Would my brother have had more opportunities to explore his interests in-depth through elective and CTE offerings, helping him make more informed decisions about his post-secondary educational path? Would other family members have begun taking advanced NDCDE coursework to accelerate their learning, perhaps graduating early or earning dual credit to reduce their time to completion and student debt load? Could those of us in my household still enrolled in traditional schools have used NDCDE to help fulfill certain state graduation requirements and allow more time in our school schedules for more academically rigorous pursuits? What is certain is that NDCDE provides families with these choices. Part of this commitment is based on my direct exposure to home education and its transformative impact on my youngest brother, who went on to finish college and lead a productive and successful personal and professional life-all because of the power of educational choice. I invite you and your child to consider taking a course or exploring more information on our diploma program to experience the many benefits and choices NDCDE offers your students firsthand. Enrollment for North Dakota students is open any time and begins on August 5 for out-of-state students. Regardless of your educational decisions for the year ahead, I wish you and your child every success as you grow together in your academic pursuits.
