Original Research by School Decision on Flasher 39
Flasher Public School District #39 is a small, rural North Dakota district serving students from kindergarten through twelfth grade across two schools, Flasher Elementary and Flasher High School. The enrollment is modest, with each grade cohort numbering in the teens or low twenties, which means children grow up alongside the same peers year after year. For families who value continuity and a setting where staff can know every student by name, that intimacy is a defining feature. It also means fewer sections, fewer electives, and less programmatic breadth than a larger district can offer, a trade-off that comes with the territory.
The student body is predominantly white, with a meaningful American Indian and Alaska Native presence and small Hispanic and multiracial populations. The district did not report free-or-reduced-price lunch counts, special education rates, or English learner figures, so it is hard to characterize the full socioeconomic and support picture from the available data. A parent looking for detail on those populations would need to ask the district directly.
On state assessments, North Dakota introduced a new test, the ND A-PLUS, with revised proficiency cut scores, so results from prior years are not directly comparable. The state reported proficiency as ranges rather than single point values, which reflects the small cohort sizes and privacy considerations. In math, results span from moderate to strong depending on the grade. The standout is sixth grade, where proficiency runs higher than any other grade band in either subject. Elementary math lands in a moderate range, and seventh and eighth grade sit a step below that. Reading results are more uneven. Fifth grade shows the strongest reading performance, while middle school reading drops off, with seventh grade landing lowest across all subjects and grades the state tested. Science was assessed in fourth and eighth grade, and results fall on the lower end, particularly in fourth grade. Participation rates were generally solid across grades and subjects. A parent may want to look into the middle school reading and science results further with the school, since those are the softest spots in the data.
The district does not report a graduation rate, and no data on advanced coursework, career pathways, dual credit, or program offerings was available. The same is true for staffing ratios, discipline, and attendance, all of which were absent from the materials we received. Without those pieces, it is difficult to say much about the academic pathway beyond what the state test results show.
Housing in the district's area sits above the North Dakota state benchmark but below the national one, reflecting Morton County's position in the broader market. Home values have been rising at a healthy pace year over year, and rents have climbed even faster. An interesting detail for families weighing rent versus ownership: the estimated monthly mortgage on a typical home in the district costs less than typical rent, a relatively uncommon pattern that makes buying more attractive here than in many places. The district draws from areas around Mandan and New Salem, with the larger share of housing value concentrated near Mandan.
We searched for recent parent-relevant changes in the district, such as facility updates, program launches, or leadership transitions, and found nothing specific enough to report. No locale brief was provided, so we cannot characterize the surrounding community's character or amenities beyond what the housing data suggests. No neighbor comparison among Morton County districts was available, so we cannot position Flasher against its peers on enrollment, demographics, or academic results.
What the data does show is a small, close-knit district where math performance is generally steady, reading has clear weak spots in the middle grades, science results are modest, and housing costs are manageable by national standards. For a family prioritizing a quiet, personal school environment and willing to engage directly with the district on the questions the data leaves open, Flasher is worth a conversation. For those who want rich program offerings or detailed performance transparency, the available information is thin.
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