Wyoming’s K-12 districts are accredited by the Wyoming State Board of Education annually in accordance with W.S.21-2-304(a)(ii). The schools governed by each district are accredited through the district. Accreditation includes annual requirements as well as an on-site peer review once every five years.
Accreditation Criteria
There are 24 accreditation criteria. All are considered in the annual review. The first fourteen are the focus of the on-site peer review.
The purposes of accreditation are verification of adherence to statute and continuous improvement of district processes (Chapter 6 Rules). The annual requirements are focused on meeting the requirements of statute, and the external review is focused on evidence-based practices.
Assurances
While the annual accreditation requirements are more reliant on artifacts than Yes/No assurances, assurances may be collected for some statutory requirements.
Artifact Approval
Annually, districts provide links to artifacts to verify adherence to Chapter 6 Rules and Regulations by November 1. The list of artifacts is provided to districts.
School Improvement Plans
School improvement plans are reviewed by the accreditation team to verify that they meet the applicable requirements of statute.
District Assessment Systems
District assessment system plans are part of the annual artifacts, and a review is held on-site every five years.
Internal Verification of Compliance
The accreditation section annually surveys all WDE program managers to ensure that there are no unresolved compliance issues across the agency (e.g., data reporting issues, unresolved corrective action plans, etc.).
Staffing
Staffing data are reviewed annually to ensure that staff are certified and that their certification matches their area of assignment.
External Review
Districts have the option to select between the WDE Peer Review team or other approved providers for the on-site external review. Regardless of the external review option selected, all districts have an agency-led, on-site review of the District Assessment System at least once every five years.
WDE Peer Review
The WDE peer review is highly integrated with the annual requirements. The WDE peer review consists of a two-day, on-site visit. District processes are reviewed onsite on a five-year cycle using the Peer Review Workbook. The peer review teams are comprised of 5-7 statewide peers, 2-3 WDE staff, and an external team lead hired by the WDE. The components of the WDE Peer Review are:
- District Presentation: District leaders explain district processes for the first 14 accreditation criteria. District leaders provide a presentation along with evidence to show the level of implementation of effective practices defined in the Peer Review Workbook.
- District Artifacts: Districts provide documents and other artifacts to explain the processes being implemented. With a few additions, the annual artifacts are sufficient for the peer review.
- District Assessment System: The team leader and WDE staff ensure that the District Assessment System meets the requirements of Wyoming statute and Chapter 31 Rules.
- Classroom Observations: Classrooms are observed using the rubric in the Peer Review Workbook. The results are used to determine ratings for Criterion #11 in the Peer Review Workbook. There is no data collected other than the team member ratings based on the observations.
