North Valley
North Valley
Extended School Project
North Valley intends to submit an application for 21st CCLC funding for the North Valley Extended School Project for the next five years, beginning with the 2025-2026 school year. Submitting an application does not guarantee funding. Partners are always welcome. Contact Lori Zahradka, lori.zahradka@k12.nd.us, 21st CCLC Project Director.
Vision
Vision:
The North Valley Extended School Project, built on strong community partnerships, aims to keep children and youth in northeast North Dakota safe, supported, and engaged outside regular school hours. Its out-of-school programs promote academic growth, positive behavior, and real-world readiness. Through collaboration with families, schools, and local agencies, the initiative opens access to enriching opportunities before school, after school, and during summer, preparing students to be Choice Ready and active contributors to their communities.
School districts, though differing in size and location, share common challenges: rural, high poverty, low academic performance, limited school-age care, and few adult education options. Students in these areas, particularly those from low-income households, often lack access to quality learning experiences and are at greater risk of falling behind academically. To address these issues, North Valley Career and Technology Center proposes the expansion of 21st Century Community Learning Centers. Each site will maintain its unique identity while collaborating as part of a consortium to offer safe, academically enriching programs for high-need students. Services will align with North Dakota state standards in reading, math, and science, using engaging, standards-based programming to drive consistent participation. Families will also benefit from literacy and lifelong learning opportunities. The initiative will coordinate with existing support services, including Title I, ELL, Migrant, USDA and Adult Education. Key partners include CareerViewXR, NDSU Extension, Soil Conservation, Unity Medical Center, and others. With continued DPI funding, the program will provide sustainable, high-quality enrichment opportunities for students and families across the region.
Project Goals
Partners Bring Quality to Programs:
A primary goal of our North Valley Extended School Project is to stimulate development and coordination among the appropriate organizations also serving the target population in order to:
- reduce gaps in current programming;
- give students access to real-world experiences and additional caring and committed adults;
- to expose students to the larger community to better understand its strengths and needs; and
- to provide experiences and community connections that could lead to future life and career opportunities.
Students (grades 9-12) who attend North Valley Career and Technology Center are given opportunities to experience careers available in their own communities and throughout the region through industry tours, job shadows, and summer internships.
North Dakota Afterschool Network
Mike Hanson and Lori Zahradka serve on the leadership team for the North Dakota Afterschool Network. The Network was established in October 2016 with funding by the C.S. Mott Foundation and North Dakota partners.
Network Vision
All North Dakota students have access to high-quality programs to ensure youth are successful in their lives.
Network Mission Statement
We equip North Dakota afterschool programs with the tools and support to expand program quality, build leadership capacity, and ensure access to afterschool programs for all youth in their community.
Network Goals
- Create a sustainable structure of statewide, regional, and local partnerships, particularly school-community partnerships, focused on supporting policy development at all levels.
- Support the development and growth of statewide policies that will secure the required resources needed to sustain new and existing school-based/school-linked afterschool programs.
- Support statewide systems to ensure programs are of high quality.
White-Riley-Peterson Policy Fellowship
Lori Zahradka was selected as a member of the 2014-2015 Class of White-Riley-Peterson Policy Fellows. Named for William S. White, Richard W. Riley and Terry K. Peterson, the White-Riley-Peterson Policy Fellowship was a ten-month learning experience, in partnership with the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. It was offered by the Riley Institute at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. Grounded in deep discussion of actual case studies and led by policy changemakers, the Fellowship equipped graduates with a real-world understanding of the art and science of policymaking for afterschool and expanded learning. Fellows worked closely with their afterschool networks and network leads to build capacity, ensure statewide connectivity and assist in advancing the public interest policy agenda of the network. In states where no network existed, participants worked to develop one. A precious and rare opportunity indeed!
