Dear Superintendents,
In less than two weeks, Wyoming will host state superintendents from across the nation at the Council for Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) Summer Leadership Convening in Cheyenne. I am very excited to reconnect with my colleagues across the nation, show off our wonderful state, and lean in on the most important education topics.
Among the topics we will discuss is how funds from the American Rescue Plan Act are being used to make up for lost learning time and enhance opportunities for students and communities. I have been thinking a lot lately about innovation and 21st Century learning, along with critical partnerships between K-12, post-secondary, and the employer community. In the past year and a half we have all taken steps to ensure technology in our schools makes learning more mobile than ever before. Simultaneously, are we also thinking about how we will teach the skills that enable our students to prosper in a quickly evolving technological world that permeates every career? The Wyoming Department of Education will continue to support efforts to prioritize 21st century teaching and learning.
A couple of additional thoughts about innovation:
Recently, I had the opportunity to visit UW’s makerspace, called the Wyrkshop. It was exciting to hear about the many ways UW is reaching out to K-12 students and partnering with other makerspaces across the state.
Finally, computer science standards are to be fully implemented next school year. The number of “early implementers” is astounding. Attendance at computer science professional development opportunities continues to grow and teachers are excited for the transition.
#bootupwyoming
Tyler Kerr (far L) led us on a tour of UW’s makerspace, WYrkshop
Memos to be released today:
- 2021-085-Public-Comment on-Hathaway-Scholarship-Progra
m-Rules-PDF - 2021-086-Public-Comment-ESEA-F
ederal-Fiscal-Waiver-PDF
Chief of Staff Dicky Shanor emcees our first in-person WDE all-staff meeting in 18 months
Sincerely,
