Heading into fall 2022, nearly 7% of teaching positions in North Dakota were unfilled. Between attracting young talent and retaining career professionals, a teacher shortage crisis in a rural state can be particularly challenging — but North Dakota's Department of Public Instruction (NDDPI) found a way.

In this episode of the Best of Us, we speak with Laurie Matzke, Assistant State Superintendent for the NDDPI. Laurie shares how her team found inspiration in the state’s first paraprofessional-to-teacher pipeline program, originally created prior to the pandemic, to build post-COVID solutions for special education and teacher shortages across the spectrum. We discuss the partnerships that have been critical to successfully expanding the program, what they’ve learned along the way, and how they’re measuring success.