Bergquist, Hoffarth selected for education policy fellowship

Other fellowship members include:

• Kelly Anderson, high school principal at Hawley High School
• Derek Grahn, business education teacher at Breckenridge High School
• Josh Haag, secondary principal at Moorhead Area Public Schools
• Kristi Hastings, attorney and partner at Pemberton Law
• Melissa Mattson, director of administrative services at Lakes Country Service Cooperative
• Todd Van Erp, principal leadership support with the Western Lakes Regional Center of Excellence

Fellows recently traveled to St. Paul to participate in policy work at the capital aimed at education. They met with non-partisan house and senate staff, committee administration, governor and lieutenant education policy advisor, and former state legislator Jen Loon.
“Our goal for the policy fellowship is multi-faceted; to increase capacity in our school leaders in understanding the education policy landscape state and nationwide, to see stronger intersections outside the immediate school ecosystems, and to functionally shift systems not serving our students in the best way for their future,” Troy Haugen, coordinator of the Rural Fellowship Cohort, and LCSC director of Career & College Readiness said in a press release.

Cohort members will participate in a 16-session program focused on state and federal public policy development and the leadership necessary to influence public policy development.

The fellowship program runs from Oct. 14, 2021, through Oct. 13, 2022.