Our Schools

Welcome to the Dickinson Public School distict, a growing school system in western North Dakota.  Dickinson Public Schools has been serving the city of Dickinson and surrounding communities since 1893 and is the largest employer in the city of Dickinson with almost 700 staff members providing services to 4,100 students.

DPS consists of eleven schools governed by a board of five members:

Located in the southwestern North Dakota, the city of Dickinson continues to welcome newcomers from around the United States and the world. At Heart River Elementary, nearly 300 students attend school daily to receive instruction and support from a staff consisting of twenty-seven certified educators and seventeen classified staff members.

The Roughrider K-8 Virtual Academy is another option for our DPS students.
Students can:
→ Take online courses for free
→ Take a full-time online course load at home
→ Do coursework online but maintain a traditional 175-day school calendar
→ Be a full-time online student

Roughrider K-8 Virtual Academy is a school of choice that provides a fully online educational option for DPS students. Students enrolled in the Virtual Academy are required to participate in District and State assessments and adhere to all district policies concerning attendance, participation, and completion of all coursework. The Roughrider K-8 Virtual Academy principal reserves the right to make enrollment exceptions based on individual student’s academic needs and what is in the best interest of the individual student.

The Roughrider 9-12 Virtual Academy is a new opportunity within the Dickinson Public School District to help meet the needs of our students who would like to continue as entirely virtual learners or be blended learners with Dickinson High School. It is a stand-alone 9-12 school with shared staff, teachers, and administrators from Dickinson High School.

Our doors opened for the very first time on August 21, 2013. Our building currently houses more than 515 students in grades K-5. Our students are instructed and led by a quality staff consisting of 64 certified teachers and classified staff. Our new building features updated classrooms with state of the art technology. Our library has a collection of over 10,000 books which can be checked out through our computerized checkout system.

Southwest Community High School is an alternative high school operated by the Dickinson Public School District. The purpose of the school is to provide an educational alternative to students who have had difficulty learning in the traditional high school setting.