ND RISE

Executive Summary

North Dakota Retaining, Inspiring, and Supporting Educators (ND RISE) operates the state’s structured mentoring program, providing support to first- and second-year teachers across 170 districts. Facing rapid program growth and increasing accountability demands, ND RISE needed a scalable, data-driven approach to track engagement, measure impact, and advocate for funding. With KickUp, they streamlined data collection, improved program accountability, and gained critical insights that strengthened their case for legislative funding. Today, ND RISE is regarded as one of the most data-driven programs in the state, with comprehensive insights to support its outcomes.

The Challenge

As a state-wide mentoring initiative, ND RISE faced several growing pains:

• A disorganized data collection process relying on Google Forms, SurveyMonkey, and spreadsheets made it difficult to track engagement and measure program effectiveness.
• A lack of visibility into mentor participation meant there was no way to ensure that beginning teachers were receiving meaningful support.
• Limited reporting capabilities made it challenging to communicate program impact to school districts, stakeholders, and the state legislature.
• Scaling beyond first-year teachers required a structured approach to support an expanding number of participants.

"We were offering all these supports that we believed were good, but we lacked a way to organize and analyze the data effectively," says Erin Jacobson, Program Coordinator. "As the program grew, we needed a way to handle the capacity while ensuring our data was meaningful and actionable."

The Solution

ND RISE partnered with KickUp to centralize data collection and program evaluation, leading to:

• A structured system of record to track mentor engagement, stipend distribution, and participant feedback.
• Customized dashboards providing districts with insights into their beginning teachers’ experiences.
• Improved accountability by ensuring mentors were actively supporting new teachers rather than simply signing off on requirements.
• Data-driven decision-making to adjust professional learning offerings and refine mentorship supports.

"As we’ve grown, KickUp has grown with us. It’s not a cookie-cutter solution. It allows us to evaluate the program itself rather than individual participants, helping us make informed decisions," says Jacobson. "KickUp gives us the flexibility to adapt and grow, ensuring that North Dakota’s new teachers get the support they need to thrive."

Impact & Results

With KickUp, ND RISE has been able to:

• Scale the program from serving 325 teachers to over 716 beginning teachers enrolled in 2024-25, along with their mentors.
• Ensure fiscal responsibility by streamlining stipend tracking and automating funding calculations, providing greater transparency to the Appropriations Committee (the legislative body responsible for state budget decisions).
• Strengthen state-wide teacher retention, demonstrating 3-8% higher retention rates among program participants compared to non-participants.
• Support over 4,000 new teachers and their mentors to date.
• Expand funding from $2.5 million to $4.5 million per biennium due to data-backed advocacy efforts.
• Facilitate over 700 instructional coaches through the Coaches Academy, providing continued professional learning support.
• Provide grants through Beginning Teacher Networks that supplement mentoring for teachers with up to five years of experience.

"All the data that we're utilizing, all the reports—KickUp has allowed us to confidently advocate for program funding. It provides the data we need to show impact," says Jacobson.

The Future

Looking ahead, ND RISE is focused on further refining its mentoring and coaching structures. With state recommendations pushing for a three-year mentorship model, KickUp will continue to serve as the backbone for tracking program efficacy and advocating for continued investment in teacher support.