Original Research by School Decision on Berthold High School
Berthold High School is a small rural public school serving grades seven through twelve in Berthold, North Dakota, part of the Lewis and Clark School District 161 in Ward County. The town sits in the Minot metropolitan area but has a character all its own, a compact prairie community where the school is woven into the civic fabric rather than set apart on a distant campus. The surrounding economy draws on agriculture and the broader Bakken oil region, with mining and warehousing as local employment sectors. Outdoor recreation anchors the area, with hunting and fishing at Lake Darling Dam, Tioga Dam, and Lake Sakakawea within an hour's drive. The town's population has stayed flat over decades, and no major housing developments or commercial expansion are evident. For a family considering Berthold, this is a place where stability and quiet rural life are the defining features.
The school is small, with a total enrollment under a hundred students across six grade levels. The student body is overwhelmingly white, with only a handful of students from other racial or ethnic backgrounds. The share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch is low, suggesting a community where most families are working or middle income rather than facing concentrated economic hardship. Data on special education enrollment and English learner status was not available, so those populations, if present, are not captured here. Class sizes are naturally small, which can mean more individual attention and closer peer relationships, though it also means fewer sections, fewer electives, and a narrower social circle than a larger school would offer.
On the most recent state assessments, reported for the 2024-25 school year, proficiency rates are modest. About a third of students reached proficiency in math, while roughly a fifth did so in English language arts and in science. Only one year of data was available, so no trend can be drawn. These results sit below what many families would hope to see, and a parent may want to look into this further with the school, asking how the district is responding and what supports are in place. The absence of multi-year context makes it hard to tell whether this is a stable pattern or a single-year dip.
Several important data points were not available. No graduation rate was provided, though for a school this size, a few students in either direction can shift the picture considerably. No information on course access, advanced coursework, career or dual-credit pathways, staffing ratios, attendance, or discipline was included in the data we received. The district brief returned no findings on recent curriculum changes, budget decisions, bond referenda, or new programs, so there is little to report on the district's strategic direction or recent investments. A family would want to ask the district directly about what academic and extracurricular offerings exist beyond the basics, especially at the high school level where college preparation and career pathways matter.
The housing market in Berthold's zip code shows typical home values above the North Dakota state benchmark but below the national figure. Estimated monthly mortgage costs run higher than local rents, which may make renting relatively more affordable for families not yet ready to buy. The price-to-income ratio sits below four times median household income, which by national standards is a moderate burden. Mortgage rates have hovered in the mid-six percent range recently. For a family already in or near the Minot area, Berthold offers a lower-cost alternative to larger markets while keeping a short commute to regional amenities in Minot.
What Berthold High School offers is a close-knit, small-town environment with the personal scale that some families seek and others find limiting. The academic results, based on the single year of data available, are a soft spot worth investigating. The missing pieces in the data, from graduation rates to program offerings, mean a prospective family should go directly to the district for a fuller picture before deciding. This is a school where the community context is clear and the academic questions are not yet answered by the available record.
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