Kirsten Baesler

Kirsten Baesler is the elected state school superintendent and administrator of the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction. The Superintendent and her team have led significant improvements in the graduation rates and academic success of the state’s Native American students, improved access to quality early childhood programs, and created the nation’s first requirement for computer science and cybersecurity instruction in all grades K-12.  Before taking office in January 2013, Superintendent Baesler had a 24-year career in the Bismarck Public School system – the state’s largest school district - as a district office technology integration specialist, school vice principal, library media specialist, classroom teacher, and instructional assistant. Superintendent Baesler also spent nine years as an elected member of the Mandan School Board. She was board president for seven of those nine years. She was elected in November 2024 to her fourth four-year term as state superintendent of public instruction.  Superintendent Baesler served for five years as a board member and president of the board of directors of the Council of Chief State School Officers, representing state education agencies nationwide, before stepping down in November 2024. Superintendent Baesler serves on more than a dozen North Dakota state boards, was one of 25 leaders chosen from across the country for the Governing Institute’s Women in Government Leadership Program, and is a Hunt-Kean Leadership Fellow.