North Dakota Digital Consortium

Challenge

North Dakota is home to 244 school districts, many of which are located in rural and remote towns. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and lockdowns were enforced, North Dakota school districts had to pivot to online learning to keep K-8 students in school and on track with their planned curriculum. With very few resources and limited funding, they faced the immense challenge of creating a virtual education platform to engage learners across the entire state.

Solution

The districts partnered with ASU Prep Digital to create the North Dakota Digital Consortium powered by ASU Prep Digital. This high-quality, single-platform solution made it easy for all K-8 students–even those located in tiny, one-school districts–to transition fully to remote digital learning in a scalable and cost effective way, without negatively impacting curriculum. ASU Prep Digital also provided professional development to train the consortium’s educators on best practices for online instruction and ensure a seamless transition for all.

Results

Despite the obstacles that the pandemic brought forth, the consortium saw 2,469 enrollments, keeping thousands of young learners in school. The 31 districts who participated in the consortium were able to maintain their students’ enrollment in full-time school for much less than the cost of staffing their own virtual program. Most importantly, student achievement was high across the consortium, with final grades and completion rates exceeding expectations.