As Superintendent of Public Instruction, Kirsten Baesler is committed to providing the best possible learning environment and educational experience to every child in North Dakota.
Superintendent Baesler’s life-long passion for education has inspired her entire adult career—she spent 22 years working for Bismarck Public Schools as an instructional assistant to students with intellectual disabilities, a classroom teacher, library media specialist, technology integration specialist and vice principal. Superintendent Baesler was elected to the Mandan Public Schools Board in 2004 and served as its president from 2006 until stepping down after her election as State Superintendent. She served as Southwest Regional Director for the North Dakota School Boards Association; as a governor-appointed member of the North Dakota Educational Technology Council and has more than a decade of experience working with North Dakota’s state legislators and congressional delegation on public education policy.
A native of Flasher, ND, Superintendent Baesler earned two Associate degrees from Bismarck State College, her bachelor’s degree in Education from Minot State University and her master’s degree in Education and Library Information Technology from Valley City State University.
Superintendent Baesler makes her home in Mandan, where she serves her community as a board member for several local non-profit organizations.