McKenzie County School District #1

Watford City, North Dakota, 58854-0589 United States

Mission Statement

The mission of the Bakken Area Skills Center (BASC) is to increase career and technical education and training opportunities for high school students and incumbent workers throughout the Bakken region. The vision is to provide in-demand training opportunities that are responsive to the needs of our region's workforce through collaborative partnerships with secondary education, post-secondary education / training, and local employers.

About This Cause

McKenzie County ND has the largest geographic school district in ND. According to the 2020 US Census, McKenzie County is the fastest growing county in the nation with school district enrollment projected to grow from 1,700 to 3,000 students over the next decade. The county needs a higher level of support and educational opportunities typically available within communities of its size. The county has needed a Career and Technology Education (CTE) center as the county contains the only ND Class A school district that has no post-secondary institution within its boundaries. The school district, the local Job Development Authority, and Economic Development Corporation coordinated for a Needs Assessment of the community's K-12, adult education, and retraining needs. The Needs Assessment surfaced three areas of training focus for initial emphasis: Health Careers; Automation; and Building and Trades. The BASC now trains in these areas as well as others. While occupational needs vary based on global economic conditions, the county's highest employment needs annually are in the Construction and Extraction occupation according to data from the Job Service of ND. The Bakken Area Skills Center (BASC) has the potential to impact students from 27 high schools in the northwest ND region. The BASC consolidates and expands upon existing educational successes. In addition, post-secondary and workforce training partnership agreements have been put into place to address the vision of providing opportunities to meet the workforce training and re-training needs of local industry

McKenzie County School District #1
Po Box 589 100 Third St Ne
Watford City, North Dakota 58854-0589
United States
Phone 701-444-3626
Twitter @WCNDschools
Unique Identifier NCES7_3812540