Bismarck Public Schools new superintendent outlines some of his goals for the year

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) - It takes a lot of people to run a school district, especially when it’s the largest district in the state, like Bismarck Public Schools. KFYR sat down with the new superintendent to see what his goals are and what topics are impacting education.

Jeff Fastnacht used to be the assistant superintendent at Mandan Public Schools, but it’s his first year as superintendent for Bismarck Public Schools.

He wants to be very transparent in his new role.

“Doesn’t matter if it’s the financial side or what’s happening in a classroom, what curriculum, what resource we’re using in our classrooms, none of that’s to hide,” said Fastnacht.

He’s been sharing highlights on his Facebook page, showing classroom learning to huge issues at the state level.

With over 30 years in education, he’s identifying front-line issues in education, like student behavioral health and test scores post-COVID.

“We know we’ve had a reduction in depression and performance scores with that. Just some real formidable years that due to COVID, they just missed instruction. And we’re still trying to address that,” said Fastnacht.

There are classroom concerns about kids’ social and emotional skills and finding solutions.

“Now we have schools that have to take care of your health needs with nurses, we take help, address hunger and access to services with social workers. We also provide, as you kind of said, mental health support, and that’s really providing those services closer to where the student can have access to them,” said Fastnacht.

Schools are providing more behavioral health services at a time when school safety is a concern for many parents.

“But it’s also about mental health. It’s about taking care of our kids before the tragic events and all those things have to come into play as we’re doing that,” said Fastnacht.

He wants to maintain the good relationship the district has with the police, especially with safety concerns in schools throughout the country.

“We’ve actually added some school resource officers to help cover our growing number of schools, so you can see a presence. So you’re going to see them on our campuses and interacting with their kids and just being there,” said Fastnacht.

BPS is also making sure its curriculum embraces hands-on learning and CTE programs. The learning is geared towards helping students find their passion before they graduate and join the workforce.

He wants the students to be able to show how they got their work done, so resources like Chat GPT don’t interfere with the learning.

“And that’s what our educators are talking about: how do we craft work? How do we craft questions,” said Fastnacht.

By crafting specific questions, teachers can make sure the students are not using it incorrectly or cheating.

He looks forward to staying connected with the Mandan School District in his new role.