Dear Superintendents,
The roundtable discussion with the United States Department of Education is next week in Casper. This is an important opportunity for Wyoming and I encourage you to attend and bring parents, board members, educators, community partners, and even students to the event. Here is a link to the press release with additional information.
Planning for the implementation of ESSA in Wyoming continues to move forward on several fronts. Namely, the WDE is actively soliciting and receiving meaningful input from a variety of stakeholders. Almost every day, new information is added to the ESSA link on our website. Here is a timeline of historical and upcoming milestones:
- June – Aug 2016: First round of public input
- July 2016: Internal Design Team convenes
- Sept 2016: Internal Design Team begins writing state plan
- Oct – Dec 2016: Second round of public input
- Nov 2016: Advisory Committee makes recommendations to Select Committee on Statewide Education Accountability
- Dec 2016: Work Groups convene to review rough draft of state plan
- Volunteer to be on Work Group
- Jan – March 2017: Wyoming Legislature Convenes
- April 2017: Release draft state plan
- May 2017: 30-Day public review of draft state plan
- June 2017: 30-Day Governor’s Office review of draft state plan
- July 2017: Submit state plan
Another round of listening tours begins in November. Here is a link to additional information about dates and locations.
EVERY KID VOTES
Recently, Secretary of State Ed Murray held the first Wyoming Youth Voter Summit–only a small percentage of eligible voters aged 18-24 actually vote. During this event, several Wyoming leaders learned about the Every Kid Votes campaign. This is a fast-approaching opportunity for our K-8 students to “cast their votes” for the upcoming election. “Election Day” is November 1. The Responsibility Foundation will host a training webinar for Wyoming next Wednesday, October 26, at 10:00 AM. If you are interested in this opportunity for any of your schools, please have a facilitator or administrator reach out to the Responsibility Foundation:
Marc Liebman marc@responsibilityfoundation.
Bart Skalla bart@responsibilityfoundation.
Here is a statement from Governor Mead on the topic:
I encourage all Wyoming schools and students to participate in the “Every Kid Votes” mock election on November 1. We all have an obligation to study the issues and the candidates, and every American should vote. “Every Kid Votes” offers an opportunity for our school children to learn about civic responsibility and the precious right to vote.
President Ronald Reagan said, “The right to vote is the crown jewel of American liberties and we will not see its luster diminished.” Its luster is brightest when every person participates fully in the democratic process. I support this effort to help our kids learn more about that process.
There are no memos this week.
Jillian