What should North Dakota high school teachers communicate to parents?

North Dakota's University System scholarships, including the North Dakota Academic Scholarship, require specific GPA and ACT thresholds that many families do not know about. The North Dakota Academic Scholarship provides awards to students who meet a 3.0 GPA and 24 ACT composite and complete specific core courses. Teachers who communicate the scholarship requirements early give families time to plan toward eligibility rather than discovering the requirements too late.

What graduation requirements do North Dakota high school parents need to know?

North Dakota requires students to complete specific credit units for graduation, including English, math, science, social studies, and electives. North Dakota administers the NDSA (North Dakota State Assessment) in certain grade levels and content areas. Teachers should communicate which courses satisfy graduation requirements and what the dual enrollment options are through the North Dakota University System.

How should North Dakota teachers communicate about the ACT?

North Dakota provides the ACT to 11th graders through school-day administration, and the score connects to North Dakota University System scholarship eligibility and admission requirements. Teachers should communicate the test date in the fall, explain how their course builds ACT-relevant skills, and point families toward free preparation resources. In rural North Dakota communities where access to test prep services is limited, teacher guidance is particularly valuable.

How do North Dakota teachers reach families across rural communities and on tribal lands?

North Dakota has a large rural population spread across small agricultural communities, and several reservations including the Standing Rock Sioux, Fort Berthold, Turtle Mountain, and Spirit Lake. Teachers who serve reservation communities should approach communication with cultural respect, acknowledge the specific history of education and Indigenous communities, and consider the communication preferences of families who may have different relationships to school institutions than the general population.

What tool helps North Dakota high school teachers send parent newsletters efficiently?

Daystage is a teacher-focused newsletter platform that works well for North Dakota schools of all sizes. You write your content, add key dates, and send to all families at once. For ND teachers in both larger Fargo and Bismarck district schools and small rural schools, it is a practical way to maintain consistent family communication.

North Dakota High School Parent Communication Guide

North Dakota's high school teachers work in one of the most sparsely populated states in the country. Small schools are the norm outside Fargo, Bismarck, and Grand Forks. Many of these small schools serve agricultural communities where families are closely connected to the school, and reservation schools serve Indigenous communities with specific cultural relationships to education. In all of these contexts, consistent parent communication matters, and specific communication about scholarships and college access can have an outsized impact.

Communicate the North Dakota Academic Scholarship Early

The North Dakota Academic Scholarship provides financial awards to North Dakota students who attend a North Dakota University System institution. Eligibility requires a minimum 3.0 GPA calculated on a specific formula and a minimum ACT score of 24. Many North Dakota families, particularly in rural and reservation communities, are not aware of this scholarship. Put the scholarship requirements in your newsletter in 9th grade. Tell families the GPA threshold, the ACT requirement, and where to find more information. A student who knows about this scholarship in 9th grade has four years to aim for the score; a student who finds out as a senior may have already missed the preparation window.

Make Dual Enrollment Through NDUS Visible

North Dakota University System institutions have dual enrollment partnerships with high schools that allow students to earn college credits before graduation. For families in rural North Dakota where the cost of college is a barrier, dual enrollment provides an accessible and affordable first step. Tell parents about dual enrollment options in your newsletter during course selection season. Explain how credits transfer to NDSU, UND, and regional NDUS campuses.

Address the ACT Administration

North Dakota provides ACT testing for 11th graders, and the score connects directly to scholarship eligibility and university admission. Tell parents the test date in your fall newsletter. Explain how your course builds ACT-relevant skills. Point families toward the free Khan Academy ACT prep resource. For North Dakota students in rural communities where private test prep services are not available, teacher guidance about preparation is often the only structured support they receive before the exam.

Approach Tribal Community Communication With Respect

North Dakota has five federally recognized tribes with reservation communities that include their own schools and also send students to public schools in surrounding areas. Teachers who serve students from North Dakota's tribal communities should communicate with awareness of the history of Indigenous education and the importance of cultural responsiveness. Acknowledging the history and contemporary contributions of North Dakota's tribes in your curriculum and telling parents about it in your newsletter builds trust in communities where the relationship between families and schools has historically been complex.

Connect to North Dakota's Economic and Agricultural Context

North Dakota's economy is shaped by agriculture, oil and gas production (Bakken oil patch), and the University System as a major employer in Fargo and Grand Forks. Teachers who connect classroom content to North Dakota's economic context make the curriculum feel locally relevant. A science teacher discussing the geology and chemistry of oil extraction is connecting to something North Dakota families recognize from their communities. An economics teacher using commodity agriculture as a case study in supply and demand is teaching with examples that North Dakota students encounter in their own households.

A Sample North Dakota High School Newsletter Section

Here is what a scholarship-aware section looks like:

"North Dakota Academic Scholarship reminder: students who maintain a 3.0 GPA using the scholarship's calculation formula and score a 24 or higher on the ACT may qualify for the North Dakota Academic Scholarship at NDUS institutions. The school-day ACT for 11th graders is April 23. Free ACT prep is available at khanacademy.org. Your student's school counselor can tell you their current scholarship GPA calculation at any time."

Keep Newsletters Short and Accessible

North Dakota's rural families often rely on mobile devices for communication, and broadband access varies across the state. Keep your newsletters short, use clear headings, and avoid large images that slow loading. A newsletter that reads quickly on a phone with limited signal reaches more families than a beautifully designed document that requires a strong internet connection to open.

Send Consistently With Daystage

North Dakota's small-school culture and rural family population benefit from consistent, professional teacher communication. Daystage gives North Dakota teachers a fast and reliable way to write and send newsletters to every family at once. You add your content, your key dates, and deliver in one click. The consistency builds the parent relationships that support students through a school year in communities where the teacher is often one of the most trusted informational resources families have.

North Dakota High School Parent Communication Guide for Teachers