Kirsten Baesler

State Superintendent, Kirsten Baesler Kirsten Baesler is the elected state superintendent of the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction. She was reelected to her second term in November, 2016. Prior to assuming her elected state position, Superintendent Baesler had a 23-year career with North Dakota's largest school district,Bismarck’s public schools. Ms. Baesler served as a vice principal, library media specialist, classroom teacher and instructional assistant. Superintendent Baesler served on the Mandan school board for nine years, including seven years as its president. She holds two associates’ degrees from Bismarck State College, a bachelor’s degree in education from Minot State University, master’s degrees in education and library information technology from Valley City State University, and completed the Harvard Graduate School Educational Leadership Program. Superintendent Baesler serves on 15 boards, including the Education Standards and Practices Board; the Educational Technology Council; the Teachers’ Fund for Retirement board; and the Board of University and School Lands, which manages state land holdings and oversees a $3 billion trust fund that benefits North Dakota’s public schools. She is a member of the board of directors for the National Dropout Prevention Center at Clemson University, and a member of the Joe Foss Institute’s Civics Education Initiative advisory board. Superintendent Baesler is a native of Flasher, N.D., lives in Mandan, N.D., and has three adult sons.