Valley City State University Leading the Way

Five years ago, Rural Schools Collaborative spotlighted the newly-launched Rural School Partner Benefit Program at Valley City State University (VCSU), based out of Valley City, North Dakota. The program, one of many initiatives designed by VCSU to form strong partnerships between one of the state’s largest teacher preparation programs and its many rural schools, is still thriving and is part of a portfolio of initiatives that have forged deep relationships between higher education and districts in North Dakota.

The many programs highlighted in this profile come as a result of VCSU filling a need and prioritizing meeting both prospective teachers and districts where they are at. That starts with the challenge that North Dakota schools are facing around hiring and keeping talented educators. “Changes in teacher retention have caused problems throughout the state in filling positions, and so we've got a lot of new initiatives to help fill those positions.” shares Dr. James Boe, VCSU Dean of Graduate Studies & Extended Learning.

Undergraduate Teacher Preparation

Valley City State University's efforts begin with a traditional, face-to-face teacher preparation program for undergraduate students, a program that has about 200 students currently enrolled between elementary and secondary education. Additionally, VCSU and North Dakota State University (located in Fargo) share a unique partnership that allows even more (roughly 90) students to graduate college with a teaching degree in elementary education.

North Dakota State University (NDSU) does not offer an elementary education major, and so in the early 2000s NDSU gave some classroom space to VCSU faculty, forming a dual-major, dual-university program: “They agreed that Valley City State University would deliver an elementary ed. program, but students who are in that program would be a double major, so they're human development and family science and elementary ed. They go through all of their plan-of-study for both majors at NDSU. In the second semester of their sophomore year they are almost exclusively taking VCSU elementary education coursework until they graduate” describes Dr. Boe.

On top of the collaborative partnership with NDSU, VCSU has significantly expanded their online program in both elementary and secondary education, bringing access to education for students from across North Dakota who are unable to relocate to Valley City or Fargo for four years. “That undergraduate preparation program has undergone some changes over the years, [and is now] delivering a lot of their coursework online to meet the students where they're at,” shares Dr. Boe. The interest in the program continues to grow, and currently prepares over 200 future educators for their time in the classroom.

This has also allowed many current paraprofessionals who are already working in classrooms to gain their degree and become licensed teachers, taking advantage of an expiring senate bill in North Dakota that paid full tuition for paraprofessionals seeking their licensure. The program does require them to both work and attend school full time, however, which Dr. Boe acknowledges can be a significant barrier for those with children.

Building Classroom Skills

Two VCSU initiatives dovetail to prepare educators to step into the classroom and be prepared to excel in classroom management, relationship building, and possess the social skills required to foster positive learning environments. The first is a substitute teaching program, where face-to-face students at both the VCSU and NDSU campuses begin substitute teaching in local classrooms during their junior year. “What that does for students is it gives them a lot of field experience beyond what is part of a class or a practicum and they're learning more classroom management skills. They start in pairs, and then as they get better at what they're doing, then they go off on their own, and many of the students will continue to sub even after their days are filled, because they get paid to do that.”

And to the partnering schools, Dr. Boe says that this program fills a big need: “Schools are short on substitute teachers, and in order to have professional development or planning or anything among grade level or content areas, they need substitute teachers, and they're difficult enough to find when somebody has a sick day or any other type.” Done independently of their traditional student teaching experience, spending a day or two a week in area classrooms as a sub has drawn positive feedback from students on how extended hours in the classroom have boosted their skills at working with children.

This pairs with the university’s efforts to increase the importance of social-emotional learning. Reflecting on where VCSU’s teacher preparation has grown the most since Rural Schools Collaborative last visited in 2020, Dr. Boe shares that “one of the big things that we started within the last year and [are] continuing on this year is the social emotional learning and getting the relationships built. That will also help to manage the classroom– if you have good relationships with your students, you have fewer classroom management issues. Because the students like you, they respect you, they don't act out as much. And so I think that would be one of the areas where that [growth] would be probably the highest.”

Masters in Teaching

VCSU also offers a Master of Arts in Teaching program, which first began in 2018 and is overseen by Dr. Boe. He recalls that when the program first began, “We predicted that [at first] we would get a handful of students, but by the time we had done multiple semesters, we would be at 30 [participants], and continue at 30. We had 30 the first semester, and we had been at 30 almost every semester.” The program’s average participant is a career changer, around their thirties, with a degree in a related field to teaching who is now coming back to gain an alternate access license to teach in the classroom.

The teachers are granted an alternate access license to teach upon entry to the program, and are working in classrooms across North Dakota during the semesters they are enrolled. North Dakota is divided into six Regional Education Areas (REA), and the vast majority of teachers are eligible to receive a Rural Teacher Support Waiver that VCSU offers, granting them a 33% tuition discount.

Dual Credit

VCSU is also working directly with those within schools– teachers and students alike– to prepare the next generation of teachers in North Dakota. Utilizing over 70 instructors, many of whom graduated from a VCSU program, they offer credits for a significant number of high school students interested in college credits: “This fall we have 517 students taking early college credit in schools that are all primarily rural.

Ensuring consistency and quality is paramount for Dr. Boe and his colleagues at VCSU, and they are proud of the levels that they have reached: “I bring all 70 plus teachers here two times a year to align their syllabus, their outcomes and objectives, and their assessments, so they are pretty much teaching what we are teaching here.” This forms longstanding relationships between those in education, many of who may have graduated from VCSU as an undergraduate or achieved their master’s degree there.

As VCSU prepares for new initiatives around the North Dakota Personalized Learning Network, integrating AI into education, and competency-based learning, these partnerships and relationships will be key to continuing to grow their impact on rural education across North Dakota. Dr. Boe and his colleagues are filled with energy, pride, and excitement for how their offerings have developed and molded to meet the needs of the students, teachers, and schools that they serve.

RSC would like to thank Dr. Steven Johnson for facilitating our visit to Valley City State University. We are very grateful for Dr. Johnson’s advocacy of education in North Dakota and beyond, and thank him for his support of RSC over the years.