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By Tasi Livermont, for Dakotafire with additional reporting by Doug Card, The Britton Journal and Wendy Royston, Dakotafire Media Should future teachers have to spend as much time sitting in desks to earn the right to stand at the front of class? Some think the answer to South Dakota’s teacher shortage at least partly lies in reducing education expectations put ... Read More »

By Tasi Livermont, for Dakotafire with additional reporting by Doug Card, The Britton Journal; Jody Moritz, Faulk County Record; and Wendy Royston, Dakotafire Media With a hope and a prayer, school districts across South Dakota attempted to fill vacant teaching positions this year. “I must have prayed really hard,” said Monte Nipp, Langford (S.D.) Area School superintendent. “I was really ... Read More »

Both North and South Dakota perform well above the national average when it comes to high school graduation rates, but nationwide, graduation rates between rural and urban students are almost too close to call, accepting a margin of error: 83 percent and 86 percent, respectively. However, the discrepancy between rural and urban residents who have any amount of post-secondary education is a full 13 percentage points: 46 percent and 59 percent, respectively. So, why doesn’t that high graduation rate translate to post-secondary education the way it does for the urban population? Read More »

While health leaders warn of the effect of too much screen time for children, schools increase their use of technology. The key is how it's used, they say. Read More »

As Common Core standards started going into effect in Dakota classrooms this fall, state education leaders probably expected to spend some time explaining what the standards are. But Ryan Townsend, director of academic standards for the N.D. Department of Public Instruction, said he’s spent a lot of time lately explaining what the standards are not. “A lot of it is based on misinformation, unfortunately,” he said. Read More »

After spending years away from the area and traveling the world, it was somewhat of a shock for one Waubay man to move back to the area. “Just like in the Wizard of Oz, there’s no place like home,” Loris Welch said. “I have lived all over the world and have never called another place home. Home is where your heart is and my heart is in Waubay, South Dakota.” Read More »

Groton’s senior seventh-hour government class hosted the first school board cracker barrel session April 2. Photo by Char Telkamp/Groton Independent   Want to get students involved in politics? Put them in the driver’s seat—or, in this case, the moderator’s chair. Groton’s senior government class, and the community, got a first-hand look at the candidates running for school board during the ... Read More »