Jul. 3—GRAND FORKS — Ten area teachers are set to receive training and credentials to serve as principals in North Dakota through a new UND program.

The university’s registered apprenticeship program is the second to qualify for Aspiring Principals grant funding from the state Department of Public Instruction.

The program covers the cost of tuition for current public school teachers at five area school districts. ND DPI announced the UND award in its weekly blast newsletter last week.

“We always need a bench of the next generation of principals,” said Laura Link, an associate professor who directs UND’s master’s degree in teaching and leadership. “If there’s a gap, the whole school suffers. The principals set the tone and the conditions for teacher success and student success.”

Five teachers from Grand Forks Public Schools, three from Grafton Public Schools and one each from Manvel and North Border Public Schools are set to participate in the program, which begins this summer and runs through summer 2025.

Participants will complete asynchronous online coursework alongside an on-site “experiential clinical residency/internship” alongside a current school principal. Link said teachers were selected by their district’s superintendents.

North Dakota doesn’t currently have a principal shortage, according to the K-12 Principal Registered Apprenticeship Playbook published by NDDPI, but recent national surveys show as many as four out of 10 principals expect to leave the profession in the next three years.

The nationwide teacher shortage — which is currently a problem in North Dakota — is expected to further exacerbate the issue.

“It’s a tough job,” said Link, a former principal and school district administrator. “With the rising safety and accountability demands, there’s a great need for effective principals that have both the classroom knowledge and skills, but even better have worked alongside an effective principal.”

Teachers will graduate the program with a master’s degree and a K-12 principals’ certification for North Dakota, but aren’t necessarily guaranteed a principals position when they graduate.

Manvel Superintendent Dave Wheeler says the program is a “great opportunity” for prospective principals.

“If you’re going to stay in education and you want a better salary, the logical next step is administration,” said Manvel Superintendent Dave Wheeler.

Manvel’s apprenticeship candidate, Amanda Fuller, is set to start in the program in the fall. She’s currently running Manvel’s migrant school program. Wheeler called her “basically the principal” of the summer program.

Fuller is set to serve under Manvel’s only school principal as an assistant principal next year for her residency.

A Manvel native, she says she’d like to stay in town after she graduates but there’s no indication any of the few administrative positions at the school district are set to vacate anytime soon.

Link says the apprenticeship program deliberately focused on school districts close to UND but can potentially boost other North Dakota schools as graduates look for administrative jobs elsewhere.