Dear Superintendents,

Earlier last week, I participated in a panel discussion about civic readiness hosted by REL Central, operated by Marzano Research. REL Central release of a new resource for state and local school systems to help educators measure or assess civic readiness. An article in K-12 Dive provides more context about the issue and the panel. Requirements for teaching and assessing Wyoming students about knowledge of both the U.S. and Wyoming constitutions are generally laid out in statute. There is not a specific or consistent assessment used across schools in Wyoming.

Statewide assessment results and information will be released publicly on Tuesday. 96.43% of students took the WY-TOPP assessment during the 2021 testing window. Statewide assessments, including WY-TOPP, were not administered in 2020 because of COVID-19-caused school closures.

FEDERAL UPDATES

The U.S. Department of Education communicated directly with school district superintendents and announced that it will administer a 2021-2022 Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) for the second year in a row. The CRDC gathers and publishes information about students access to educational courses as well as school climate factors like use of discipline and student experiences of harassment and assault. To learn more, click here.

U.S. Education Secretary Cardona outlined his commitment to schools, students, and educators in a recent blog, Meeting the President’s Call to Support the Safe and Sustained Reopening of Schools. And, on NBC’s TODAY, he emphasized the importance of schools addressing students’ mental health needs (video and Homeroom blog).

A sampling of resources:

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Wyoming 2021 Teacher of the Year, Alexis Barney (Evansville Elementary School) greets rodeo fans at Cheyenne Frontier Days

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Alexis Barney and her husband Sam enjoy Cheyenne Frontier Days with the Governor, First Lady, and State Superintendent

Memos to be released today:

Blue Balow Signature

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