Dear Superintendents,
Today, the Wyoming Science Content and Performance standards cleared another (and almost final) hurdle. The standards were formally adopted by the State Board. This is the last step for the State Board and they now go to the Governor’s Office for review and signature and will become effective once the Secretary of State signs them. At the WDE, the standards and assessments teams have already begun working on support for schools with respect to implementation.
Not only do the new science standards mark the era of a new review, development, and adoption process, they will also require a great deal of work to implement. No single textbook will address the dynamic science standards. Implementation guidance will include vetting open source materials, developing online guidance, providing professional development, and working with partners to develop Wyoming-specific materials. Several key partners going forward, in addition to the standards committee and schools across the state, include Wyoming Ag in the Classroom, Wyoming Public Broadcasting (PBS), and members of business and industry.
Earlier in the week, the Joint Education, and then the Select Accountability committees moved through a very full agenda. There was significant discussion about school finance and state revenue, the Hathaway Scholarship, the state accountability system, and more. I am enthused by the depth of discussion and general direction we are headed. Draft legislation on the Hathaway Scholarship Program and accountability will be re-presented to the committee in November and I’m hopeful the committee will move forward with several impactful statutory provisions.
Next week is the AdvancED Fall Continuous Improvement Conference in Casper. I look forward to seeing many of you there.
Memos to be released Monday, September 26:
- Memo 2016-115: McKinney-Vento Homeless Amendments in ESSA
- Memo 2016-116: 2016-17 WDE613 Gifted and Talented Data Collection
- Memo 2016-117: Presidential Scholars Program
Jillian