Wyoming Education Reform

The strategic plan and goals for education reform in Wyoming are based upon the voices of thousands of education stakeholders across the state, in order to create an education system reflective of the Wyoming people and our local economic needs. At the end of the day, our education system is about preparing students for good jobs and to be good American citizens. It is critical that we refocus on this purpose with real actionable goals within six key initiative areas:

  • Parental empowerment & eliminating political bias
  • Preparing students for jobs through career & technical education
  • Developing citizenship for students
  • Reducing bureaucracy & creating efficiencies
  • Valuing and supporting teachers
  • Improving outcomes through early literacy

The following is an outline of specific goals within these initiative areas. To best achieve these goals, a cabinet, composed of parents, educators, and industry representatives from communities across the state will be appointed to provide real solutions and concrete policy recommendations. These goals also contemplate the work of Governor Gordon’s Reimagining & Innovating the Delivery of Education (RIDE) advisory group report and State Board of Education’s Profile of a Graduate, and seek to align these multiple research efforts into measurable progress.

As a stakeholder in Wyoming education, I hope you will join me in these meaningful education reform efforts for Wyoming, ensuring we have the most transparent, efficient, and excellent education system in the nation. Megan Degenfelder Wyoming State Superintendent of Public Instruction

Megan Degenfelder

Wyoming State Superintendent of Public Instruction

Parental Empowerment & Eliminating Political Bias

  • Procure a national vendor to create a statewide curriculum and materials website for parents and communities to access local education content.
  • Establish guidelines and/or model policy for parental access to student health records.
  • Create parent and student level cabinets to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction.
  • Develop a public commitment to ensuring divisive and inappropriate concepts like Critical Race Theory are not being taught.
  • Establish statewide guidelines and/or model policy for library books to ensure age appropriate access.
  • Expand education choice for families, both within and outside the traditional public system, including a statewide public charter school support network.
Preparing Students For Jobs Through Career & Technical Education (CTE)

  • Increase workforce credentials and work-based learning opportunities based on career clusters in Wyoming.
  • Update state Perkins Plan to reduce administrative burden on districts and most efficiently distribute CTE funds.
  • Implement student success plans statewide, across all types of high schools.
  • Increase participation and support in Career and Technical Student Organizations.
  • Improve professional development and pre-service training for school counselors around workforce opportunities for students.
  • Research and pursue assessment of students’ soft skills.
  • Research and pilot competency based-learning, where students can progress at their own pace.
Developing Citizenship For Students

  • Enhance civics education and engagement.
  • Increase financial literacy education.
  • Improve free speech efforts across the educational pipeline, partnering with the University of Wyoming and the Wyoming Community Colleges.
  • Establish a statewide mental health framework based on the whole student experience and parental involvement.
Reducing Bureaucracy & Creating Efficiencies

  • Initiate broad education regulatory reform.
  • Update and improve the state’s reporting on education data and spending.
  • Automate school district collection data.
Valuing & Supporting Teachers

  • Establish a recruitment and retention task force to identify needs of teachers.
  • Include a principal leadership training component in the Wyoming Department of Education’s Statewide System of Support.
  • Launch a statewide Tour of Excellence highlighting work in the classroom and create a teacher cabinet to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction.
  • Prioritize and reduce state content and performance standards in partnership with the State Board of Education.
  • Initiate student discipline reform and develop best practices guidance.
  • Study the impact of nutrition programs on student behavior and academic performance.
  • Develop school safety and security audits opportunities for schools.
Improving Outcomes Through Early Literacy

  • Rewrite W.S. 21-3-401 Reading Assessment and Intervention into national best practice for early literacy framework.
  • Prioritize English Language Arts standards in the grades K-3.
  • Create efficiencies in early childhood education administration and improve support for Child Development Centers.
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