Mrs. Kristi Brandt is the new head principal of Fargo South High School following the retirement of Dr. Bertsch after the 2023-2024 school year. She has 28 years of educational experience under her belt. In an interview with the Sudhian, she discussed her thoughts and opinions on issues pertaining to South High School.
As a new principal, what is something that you want the people of South High to know about you?
“Integrity helps me build trust with everybody. I want to be known to have integrity, as someone who is honest with everybody. When I tell a student, staff, or parent that I’m going to do something, my history has been that I have followed through. That honesty helps build trust and capital, which is so important.”
What is your prior experience in the education field?
“In total, it’s 28 years. I started as a science teacher and coach for softball, volleyball, track, and speech. I got my foot wet with administration work as a dean of students/activities director. Being a dean helped me realize this line of work rejuvenated me. Then, I got 2 master’s degrees. I became an administrator, then an assistant principal in Fairmont, MN, and finally became a principal at Valley City, ND for 14 years. All of this experience has seemed like a lead-up to being principal of South High.”
Is there a particular story or personal experience that has influenced your career?
“As an assistant principal, I built an administrative relationship with a young lady who had the cards stacked against her. She was smart, but her brain was muddled by her struggles. She didn’t have much support at home, so I would meet with her to help her be the best she could be. I can just remember her sitting across from me, tears in her eyes, saying, ‘I don’t know why I was made this way. Sometimes I think I would be better off not being on this Earth.’ That was an absolute turning point for me. Everybody has a different story.”
Your first week of school, I imagine, was a challenging one. What is your outlook on safety for the upcoming school year?
“When we receive threats, we have to respond. Otherwise, we get into a mode of complacency, which is detrimental to the safety of students and staff. If I wasn’t comfortable staying in this building, I can’t expect parents to send their children, the most precious things in their lives, to this building. So, while I think we have some growth to do, I will never take safety lightly.”
Do you believe that South High’s approach to mitigating vaping is working, and what role will you play in the approach?
“It’s very problematic. When we do bathroom sweeps, people who aren’t vaping are brought into the office and searched, and that prevents students from wanting to use the restroom. Our efforts aren’t effective right now. There are some ideas; a vape-detecting wand, reconfiguring bathrooms, hiring staff to put in bathrooms all day… There are, however, no magic solutions.”
A lack of cultural competency from a teacher or staff can be distressing and uncomfortable for students. How will you keep all staff sensitive and aware regarding racial diversity?
“One of the things I’ve learned and embraced at Fargo South is the rich diversity here. For me, I’m white and a female. Being a female in a male-dominated environment gives me a very small sense of what some of those struggles can feel like. I will never know what it’s like to experience [racism] but I take it very seriously. As an administrator in Valley City, I trained staff on cultural competency, or to use the right pronouns for students, to try and be as inclusive as possible. It’s important to provide a constant drip, to make sure staff know that this is how we do business here.”
