West Fargo High School DECA members are encouraging fellow students to do their best on the upcoming North Dakota State Assessment tests.
"It's important to the school as a whole," said Jenna Skaff, the Packers' marketing teacher and DECA adviser.
"We have very, very low scores," Skaff said Friday. "We're really trying to create a campaign to raise their scores and put their effort into it."
Skaff said the DECA students hope to give their classmates enough motivation to raise the school's NDSA scores 5 percent.
On Wednesday, administrators and counselors pulled groups of 50 juniors out of class and into the theater to see a presentation by DECA that pointed out that the school is No. 1 in many sports, but doesn't fare well at testing time.
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DECA students are wearing T-shirts that say "Give me a 5" and plan to hand out pieces of "5" chewing gum to students going into testing, Skaff said.
"We're just trying to create awareness for our school" because the scores are too low, she said.
Testing will be Tuesday and Thursday and Nov. 9-10, a press release said.
Korsmo nominated
Angela Korsmo, a longtime West Fargo School Board member, has been nominated to become president of the North Dakota School Boards Association.
Korsmo, who is vice president of the NDSBA, is the only person nominated, though others could be nominated from the floor at the group's convention Friday and Saturday.
Korsmo was also southeast director for the group for several years, she said.
"I'm hoping I win," she said Friday.
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If elected, Korsmo said she'll "lead the group with the same high ethical standards that all of my predecessors have."
The NDSBA provides support for the school boards across the state, particularly smaller boards that don't have the resources of larger school districts, Korsmo said.
"It's important, it's interesting, and it's worthwhile," she said.
The convention in Bismarck will feature seminars on laws and regulations, 21st-century teaching and learning, and other topics to improve the effectiveness of school board members.
Cheney gets grant
Cheney Middle School in West Fargo has received a $2,600 grant from the Child Nutrition Fitness Initiative Breakfast Grant program.
The program is sponsored by General Mills in partnership with the National Dairy Council. The goal is to improve student access to nutritious foods at school.
Readers can reach Forum reporters Helmut Schmidt at (701) 241-5583 and Mila Koumpilova at (701) 241-5529
