Strong Public Schools, Strong North Dakota

By: Nick Archuleta

August 28, 2025

Strong Public Schools, Strong North Dakota

As a new school year begins across North Dakota, students from Wahpeton to Williston, and from Bathgate to Bowman are back in our schools, making them hum with the excitement and promise of another year of learning. The return of students to school is more than a seasonal milestone. It is a reminder of the essential role our public schools and teachers play in sustaining our communities and securing our future.

In North Dakota, our schools are not just places where children learn math, reading, and science. They are often the cultural and social centers of our towns, especially in rural areas. Friday night football games, school concerts, and community gatherings all revolve around the local school. In many small towns, the school is the beating heart of the community, the one institution that ties generations together and keeps rural life vibrant.

At the center of this work are our teachers and education support professionals. North Dakota’s educators do more than instruct; they nurture, inspire, and guide. Whether in a small elementary school on the prairie or in a bustling high school in ND’s more urban areas, teachers meet students where they are and help them reach their potential. These education professionals know their students by name, communicate with their families, and place our kids at the center of their best intentions. Most importantly, they educate every student who walks, runs, or rolls through their schoolhouse doors. That is the obligation and passion of every public-school teacher.

Strong public schools are the key to North Dakota’s future. Our economy depends on a well-educated workforce ready to lead in fields like agriculture, energy, health care, education, public service, and technology. If we want our young people to stay in our state and build their lives here, we must provide them with schools that prepare them for success and communities that value their talents.

But strong schools don’t happen by accident. They require stable funding, policies that recognize the unique needs of rural districts as well as urban districts, and fair salaries that keep great teachers in our classrooms. Given the importance and impact of public schools in ND, when we shortchange our schools, we are shortchanging our communities and limiting opportunities for our children.

This school year, I encourage all North Dakotans to celebrate, support, and protect the public schools that hold our communities together. Let’s honor our teachers for the difference they make in the lives of students every single day. Because when we invest in our schools, we are not just funding education, we are building stronger communities, creating opportunities, and securing the future of North Dakota. Our kids deserve nothing less, and neither do we.