BISMARCK, N.D., Nov. 13, 2025 -- North Dakota State School Superintendent Kirsten Baesler announced Thursday that she has submitted her letter of retirement to Gov. Kelly Armstrong, effective at 8 a.m. Central time Monday, Nov. 24, 2025, as she prepares to assume the role of Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education.

During the past 13 years, Baesler has led an era of transformation in North Dakota’s public education system, marked by innovation, accountability, and a renewed focus on serving students, their families, and their educators.

“I’m deeply proud of the team we built and the culture we created,” Baesler said. “We shifted from being a regulatory agency to a customer-service organization that puts students and their families at the center. Our educators know we’re here to support their success, and lawmakers and the public trust us because we’ve earned that credibility through results.”

Baesler cited these achievements as being among the signature accomplishments of her administration:

Choice Ready Framework
This framework ensures that every high school graduate is prepared for college, career, or military service. North Dakota’s number of “Choice Ready” graduates has increased from 21% to 71%, showing excellent returns on taxpayers’ investment in education. Choice Ready is part of a system, required by the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, that is intended to hold schools accountable for student performance.

Computer Science, Cybersecurity, and Artificial Intelligence for All
Working closely with legislators, Baesler led North Dakota’s efforts to become the first state in the nation to require computer science and cybersecurity instruction in every grade, from kindergarten through 12. In 2025, those standards expanded to include artificial intelligence (AI) expectations for all school approval processes, ensuring all North Dakota students will be prepared for a digital world.

Innovation Waivers and Personalized, Competency-Based Learning (PCBL)
Baesler partnered with lawmakers to create innovation waivers, which empower local schools to design new models of teaching and learning that emphasize mastery of a subject instead of the amount of time spent in class. This landmark legislation sparked the growth of personalized, competency-based learning across the state and led to the nation’s first competency-based graduation pathway that was based on a student’s mastery of subject matter instead of his or her number of credit hours.

North Dakota is recognized as a national leader in shaping education around each student’s progress, pace, and potential. Today, dozens of districts participate in the ND PCBL Network, sharing best practices and demonstrating what it means to personalize education for every learner.

Leveraging the Senior Year
Through legislative collaboration, Baesler advanced initiatives allowing high school seniors to earn college credit and reduce their need for remediation work in college. This reduced higher education costs for students and their families, strengthened students’ chances for college success, and improved their workforce preparation.

The ND A-PLUS (Assessment, Performance, Learning, Understanding, Support)
Developed under Baesler’s direction, this comprehensive testing system, which measures students’ grasp of North Dakota academic learning standards, provides aligned evidence of student progress for families, state policymakers, district and building leaders, and classroom teachers. Student test performance is also linked to a state post-secondary scholarship program that provides up to $6,000 in assistance for students.

Student, Family, and Educator Voice in Policy
Baesler established the State Superintendent’s Student Cabinet, the Family Engagement Cabinet, and the Teachers’ Cabinet to ensure that decisions about education are informed by those most affected by them. Their recommendations have prompted restrictions on classroom cell phone use, greater availability of advanced academic classes, anti-bullying legislation, personalized learning, and mental health awareness.

Teacher and Principal Apprenticeships
To relieve shortages of educators, Baesler pioneered initiatives to assist teacher classroom aides acquire the needed education to become certified teachers, as well as federally supported apprenticeships that have increased the number of better-prepared teachers and principals.

Be Legendary School Board Training
Recognizing that student academic results improve when school board members are better focused on their academic success, Baesler created the North Dakota Be Legendary school board training program, which equips locally elected board members to focus on “keeping the main thing (student academic outcomes) the main thing.” More than 30 percent of North Dakota’s school board members have completed the training since its launch in 2021. Baesler placed special emphasis on this program as a former member and president of the Mandan school board.

As a former vice principal, library media specialist, elementary teacher, and local school board president, Baesler brought a lifelong educator’s perspective to her role as superintendent of public instruction.

“North Dakota has always believed in empowering people closest to students -- the families, teachers, and local leaders,” Baesler said. “Our work over the last decade has shown what’s possible when we combine that trust with innovation, accountability, and a belief that every student deserves the opportunity to succeed in whatever future path they choose.”

Armstrong has appointed Levi Bachmeier to succeed Baesler. Bachmeier has served as business manager for the West Fargo school district and as an education policy aide to former Gov. Doug Burgum.