All posts by Kari Eakins

End of the Legislative Session

Superintendent's Update

Dear Superintendents,

Today is the last day of the 2017 legislative session and there is no final word yet on education funding. Unrelated to funding, there are a number of bills that Governor Mead has signed, or will receive for signature, that move Wyoming education in a positive direction. Some of those include:

  • Virtual Education
  • School Nutrition Pilot–Farm to Plate
  • Data privacy
  • Accountability
  • Indian Education for All
  • Hathaway Scholarship Program

PAWS

The PAWS window is from March 6-24.  As always, we are available to answer questions throughout the window.  Laurie Hernandez is the assessment director. Laurie and members of her team can be reached by email laurie.hernandez@wyo.gov or jessica.steinbrenner@wyo.gov or by calling (307)777-7675.

Here is a link to a short video message from me about PAWS:

PAWS VIDEO MESSAGE TO TEACHERS AND STUDENTS

The message is intended for students and teachers as encouragement during the PAWS test. Please forward the link to teachers in your district.

ESSA

We are close to releasing a draft state plan and will be asking for feedback from specific stakeholders including educators.

State Superintendent Jillian Balow reads a Dr. Seuss book aloud to students in a classroom
Reading to students on Dr. Suess’s birthday

GOOD LUCK TO ALL SCIENCE FAIR PARTICIPANTS!

Memos to be released on Monday, March 6, 2017:

Jillian

School Protein Enhancement Pilot Project Launched

News Releases
(L-R) WDE School Support Director Shelley Hamel, State Superintendent Jillian Balow, Sen. Brian Boner, Rep. Hans Hunt, Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation Public and Governmental Affairs Director Brett Moline, Converse #1 Food Service Manager Monte Gilbreath, and Rep. Tyler Lindholm stand behind Governor Matt Mead as he signs the bill into law.
(L-R) WDE School Support Director Shelley Hamel, State Superintendent Jillian Balow, Sen. Brian Boner, Rep. Hans Hunt, Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation Public and Governmental Affairs Director Brett Moline, Converse #1 Food Service Manager Monte Gilbreath, and Rep. Tyler Lindholm with Governor Matt Mead as he signs the bill into law.

CHEYENNE – A pilot project to encourage schools to serve local meat products is being established at the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) following the signing of SEA0052 School Nutrition Pilot Project into law on Friday. The bill allows the WDE to spend up to $25,000 to provide matching funds to school districts for the processing costs for livestock donated during the 2017-18 school year. The goal is to increase the quantity of Wyoming poultry, lamb, pork, beef or bison used in school lunches.

The main sponsor of the bill, Senator Brian Boner (R-Douglas), says he’s always been impressed with the generosity of his fellow Wyomingites: “At a time when our schools are under significant financial stress, folks are stepping up to help save our schools money and increase the quality of our school lunches by donating livestock to their local school districts. This legislation will further promote the exciting trends we’ve seen at the grassroots level in some of our communities. The ranchers who have and will donate to these programs serve as a reminder that the strength of this state is not in the decisions we make here in Cheyenne, but in the resilience and generosity of our people.”

The project will save schools money by lowering the processing costs. In addition, the project will allow schools to leverage Farm to School and Ag in the Classroom programs to incorporate their school lunches into field trips and lesson plans already taking place.

“We’ve already seen a handful of schools work to enhance how they connect students to where their food comes from, and this project will give some momentum to expanding those efforts across the state,” said State Superintendent Jillian Balow. “This is a great example of the people of Wyoming coming together to do the right thing for our students.”

The WDE Nutrition team will write the rules for the School Protein Enhancement Pilot Project as part of the USDA School Nutrition Programs through a grant process. School districts interested in participating can contact Susan Benning at 307-777-6280 or susan.benning@wyo.gov or Brook Brockman at 307-777-2579 or brook.brockman1@wyo.gov. Anyone interested in donating meat products should contact their local school district.

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Media Contact:
Kari Eakins, Communications Director
kari.eakins@wyo.gov
307-777-2053

A Surprise Visit

Superintendent's Update, , ,

Dear Superintendents,

Earlier this week, I had an opportunity to greet members of the Wyoming Association of School Business Officials (WASBO) during their spring meeting. What an outstanding group of education leaders! Here are a few points from my remarks:

  • The staff at WDE consistently demonstrates professionalism, expertise, and commitment in all they do–they are amazing! We know our success depends on our ability to partner with you–our school districts are essential team members!
  • Since taking office in 2015, WDE has lost over 10% of our staff due to budget reductions. Almost every line item in our general fund and foundation budgets has been reduced, totaling millions. We will continue to meet our core and critical mission of supporting school districts and we are grateful to have you as partners.
  • As the legislative session winds down, we have seen a spectrum of solutions that attempt to address the education funding shortfall—everything from raising taxes 5%+ so no cuts are needed to fundamentally changing the way education funding is prioritized. This spectrum of ideas underscores the crisis and has every Wyoming legislator invested in the challenge. No matter what funding legislation makes it to the “finish line” I think we can count on recalibration commencing almost immediately after the session. This is where you come in.
  • It is critical that education leaders, superintendents, board members, business managers, and others come to the table with solutions that are incremental and truly address the enormity of the shortfall.
  • Aside from funding, there is important legislative and policy work moving Wyoming education forward.
  • The U.S. Department of Education has formally directed state superintendents to continue moving forward with assertive timelines for ESSA implementation.
  • As changes related to Title funding formulas and programs are analyzed by our staff we will communicate that to you, the districts. We don’t anticipate state allocations changing but may see changes in formulas for local districts.
Chief of Staff, Dicky Shanor, and Comms Director, Kari Eakins, with U.S. Senator Enzi
Chief of Staff, Dicky Shanor, and Comms Director, Kari Eakins, with U.S. Senator Enzi
U.S. Senator Mike Enzi and State Superintendent Jillian Balow discuss CTE, ESSA, and Wyoming in the Superintendent's office.
U.S. Senator Enzi and Superintendent Balow discuss CTE, ESSA, and Wyoming

Only in Wyoming

Yesterday was the 100th birthday of the Smith-Hughes Act which created Vocational Education, now known as Career and Technical Education, or CTE. Earlier in the day, our CTE supervisor, Guy Jackson, bumped into the Senator at the bakery and invited him for cake. And, in a tale fit for Wyoming, Senator Enzi stopped by WDE to help us celebrate. Senator Enzi is a champion for education and CTE and we thank him dearly for visiting and for his work!

ESSA State Plan

I shared with WASBO members and others this week that Wyoming is moving forward with our ESSA state plan and full implementation of the new law. The timeline is assertive but we owe our teachers and students a finalized ESSA plan by the beginning of school year 2017-18. There are multiple areas within the state plan that need to be developed or articulated including our standards, assessments, accountability, federal dollars, alignment of local and state reform efforts, professional development, innovations, partnerships, and more. No decision is made unilaterally or in a vacuum. Thank you for your continued willingness to participate in the process along with many other stakeholders in Wyoming education. We have many strengths to leverage and we are doing just that. Please visit our website for more information, updates, and drafts.

Memos to be released:

Jillian

New Statewide Assessments

Superintendent's Update

Dear Superintendents,

The Wyoming Department of Education will enter into contract negotiations for a new statewide assessment in grades 1-10 with the American Institutes for Research (AIR). We will also negotiate a new contract with ACT for the grade 11 assessment. These awards were made after the State Board approved recommendations for the assessments. This follows months of work by the WDE assessment team in conjunction with stakeholders from across the state. Thank you for your involvement in the process! Implementation of the new assessment is Spring 2018. Requirements for the new assessment were based on recommendations from the the Wyoming Assessment Task Force that convened in 2015. Here were several key recommendations from the task force that went into the RFP and will carry through contract negotiations and test implementation:

  • Comparability from state to state (also an ESSA requirement)
  • Reporting as a priority, not an afterthought
  • Minimal testing time
  • Cutting edge technology and design
  • Later test window

Additionally, I am committed to ensuring that Wyoming’s new assessment is helping cut a path for all statewide assessments under ESSA. Through negotiations and the development phase, the WDE assessment team and I will work to:

  • Align across grade levels and through higher education
  • Measure real world skills
  • Ensure accessibility for all students
  • Eventually incorporate internationally benchmarked items
  • Ensure customizability

Here is a link to information about AIR, the new assessment vendor. 

2015 Wyoming Assessment Task Force Report

Governor Matt Mead is surrounded by the State Superintendent and student officers of Career Technical Student Organizations during the proclamation signing for CTE Month.
FFA, DECA, FBLA students attend proclamation signing

Wyoming continues to celebrate CTE Month with a governor’s proclamation.

Random Acts of Kindness Week

Thank you! Thank you! In the words of my fifth grade son, “Kindess is much more fun to celebrate than love on Valentine’s Day.” Schools across the state participated in RAK week in creative ways. I can’t wait to see this movement grow!

A wall in Meadowlark Elementary school is covered with hearts in the shape of the numbers "307". Each of the hearts has a random act of kindness written on it.
Meadowlark Elementary 5th graders tracked their RAKs to 307 and beyond

Wyoming Legislature

Week six is done and legislators went home to enjoy a four day break. HB236 (Omnibus Bill) is gaining momentum on the Senate side and with constituents. There are aspects of HB236 that concern-namely, changes to the model. However, it is the bill that triggers a new tax revenue once savings are tapped to a certain level. Education programming bills have mostly fizzled with a few exceptions to be determined in the next week or so.

State Board of Education

New officers were selected at the State Board meeting earlier this week.  In March, three new board members will be appointed by Governor Mead.

  • Walt Wilcox, Chair
  • Sue Belish, Vice
  • Ken Rathbun, Treasurer

Memos to be released on Tuesday, February 21, 2017:

Jillian

Random Acts of Kindness Week

Superintendent's Update

Dear Superintendents,

February 12-18 is Random Acts of Kindess Week. Thank you for forwarding the memo from several weeks ago–we are hearing about some amazing kindness events taking place in schools next week. In fact, we know of one school planning to “commit” 307 acts of kindess during the week by sending cards to veterans, taking cookies to senior citizens, and more. Earlier this week, Governor Mead signed the first ever proclamation that officially recognizes this unique statewide effort. This is really taking off! If you missed the memo or haven’t heard of any events taking place in your schools, there’s still time–here are a few resources:

Superintendent’s Memo: Random Acts of Kindness Week

National Site: https://www.randomactsofkindness.org/
Wyoming Site: http://www.kindnesswyoming.org/

Kindness Wyoming

State Superintendent Jillian Balow stands with Governor Matt Mead, Wyoming Business Alliance Director Bill Schilling, and the Leadership Wyoming group following the proclamation signing for Random Acts of Kindness Week
Governor Mead signs the RAK proclamation with the Kindness Wyoming Team

CTE MONTH/SKILLSUSA WEEK

February is CTE month and we would love to share your CTE students in action on social media. If you know of a program that could be highlighted, please have them send their picture and description to tonya.gerharter@wyo.gov.

A culinary arts teacher addresses her students in the kitchen.
Mrs. Aldrich talks salad science with her students at Triumph HS after they cooked them. (I was sous chef.)
A student shows the progress on his robot to State Superintendent Jillian Balow, and other staff from the WDE and local school district.
SkillsUSA student shows us his search and rescue robot

WYOMING LEGISLATURE

Three weeks remain in the legislative session. Legislators continue to debate school finance in bills and resolutions ranging from new taxes to massive cuts to constitutional amendments. Decisions will begin to coalesce over the next couple of weeks. I remain resolute in my message that the legislature works this session to realize savings, make reductions outside of the funding model, and infuse the foundation account..

FEDERAL EDUCATION

The U.S. Senate confirmed Betsy DeVos as the new U.S. Secretary of Education. The next day, the U.S. House of Representatives rolled back the regulations for ESSA Accountability. Here are my thoughts on both:

Secretary DeVos-

Grassroots and political opposition preceded DeVos’s appointment and the process received a great deal of media attention and national conversation. It’s important to remember that education governance, especially with the passage of ESSA, is almost entirely in the hands of states and local school districts. President Trump, during his campaign, expressed support for state and local authority over education. This philosophy certainly aligns with my beliefs. I look forward to working with Secretary DeVos and serving as a resource as she learns her way. I will always advocate for all students with Wyoming students in front.

ESSA Accountability-

Congress invoked the Congressional Review Act (CRA) and rolled back promulgated regulations for higher education and ESSA accountability. Higher Ed regs will have an impact on community colleges and UW–that’s for a later update. The rollback on the accountability regs will not significantly impact Wyoming’s work to complete our ESSA plan. Congressional intent in ESSA and flexibility for states is clear and we will continue to move forward at a swift pace toward full implementation of the law. You might recall that I weighed in on proposed accountability rules last summer. All concerns I expressed on behalf of Wyoming were addressed in the final rules. For example, the proposed rules required that states identify schools for improvement using this year’s data. In other words schools would be accountable for growth using indicators that are not yet identified. In the final regs, this, and other concerns, were allayed. In all, not having regulations does not pose much of a challenge for Wyoming–we will keep working together on our state plan and do what is in the best interest of students.

Memos to be released on Monday, February 13:

Jillian

Leading for Equity

Superintendent's Update

Dear Superintendents,

As the nation coalesces around “equity” in education, we are realizing our responsibilities and opportunities to provide an equitable education for all students in Wyoming. This week marked the release of a report, Leading for Equity, that is worth noting. I had an opportunity to attend the release event for report and shared a few comments specific to equity work in Wyoming. In summary:

  • Wyoming’s education funding structure, in essence, is our equity structure and we leverage it well. We fund education more adequately and EQUITABLY than any state in the nation. This means that no matter if a student is from a town of five or five thousand, they have access to a great education. And, no matter if a family’s income is $5000 or $500,000, children receive a great education. This compelling fact is sometimes left on the table as we talk about education finance and budgets. It’s imperative that we all understand that careful investments, not just dollars, make our Wyoming education among the best. I remain resolute in my message that our students are at risk if the legislature makes cuts to the funding model without more input from you and other education partners.
  • We have an unsurpassed technology infrastructure via the Wyoming Unified Network. One way to continue to ensure equity in education is to better leverage the network for online learning. Governor Mead and the legislature have also noted this as a priority. At the WDE, we prioritized virtual learning in our strategic plan. We also convened a virtual learning task force to analyze the state structure and make recommendations for increasing access to quality virtual education. I visited several schools in the state that incorporate virtual education into a brick and mortar setting and I look forward to keeping this “equity action” on the front burner going forward.

While you and I may not reference “equity” as a driver for doing the right things for kids, it’s worth a peek at the report to see what actions your school district is committed to already and which ones are worthy for discussion. Here’s a link to an article in EdWeek about the report and the work.

EDWeek's Alyson Klein, Ohio State Legislator, 2015 Teacher of the Year, and two State Superintendents talk equity and education during a panel discussion at a press event in Washington, D.C.
EDWeek’s Alyson Klein, Ohio State Legislator, 2015 Teacher of the Year, and two State Superintendents talk equity and education this week.

Today marks the middle of the 2017 Wyoming legislative session. Track bills and watch Monday’sHouse Education Committee (school funding) meeting at: http://legisweb.state.wy.us/lsoweb/session/SessionHome.aspx 

Memo to be released on Monday, February 6:

Jillian

Career Technical Education Month Recognized in Wyoming

News Releases

CHEYENNE – Faculty and students across Wyoming are demonstrating the rigor and importance of Career Technical Education (CTE) courses by celebrating CTE Month this February. Activities taking place include participation in a national social media Thunderclap, spearheaded by the Association for Career and Technical Education.

“Career Technical Education helps make school relevant to students and gives them the skills they will need to be successful after high school,” said State Superintendent Jillian Balow. “CTE month is a chance for us to highlight the efforts of schools to improve student outcomes and diversify our economy in Wyoming.”

CTE prepares students for a range of career options utilizing programs in high schools, career training centers, community and technical colleges, and four-year universities. A profile on Wyoming’s CTE efforts is available at http://www.acteonline.org/stateprofiles/.

Governor Matt Mead will underscore the state’s commitment to CTE by officially proclaiming February as CTE Month in Wyoming on Tuesday, February 14 at 9:30 a.m. at the Jonah Business Center, Room L-54.

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Information on Career Technical Student Organizations

Media Contact:
Kari Eakins, Communications Director
kari.eakins@wyo.gov
307-777-2053

School Finance “Omnibus” Bill

Superintendent's Update

Dear Superintendents,

A number of bills that attempt to deal with school finance have been introduced or await introduction. Some are piecemeal bills, others attempt to comprehensively address school funding now and in the future. My hope, articulated in a memo to the legislature, was that this legislature would stay away from an overhaul to the school funding model during the session. In short, we have made wise investments in education over the last two decades and we ARE getting our “bang for the buck” in student achievement and equity. A different story is often being told by others right now. With inevitable reductions to education funding, this is a critical time for superintendents, educators, parents, the employer community, and citizens to weigh in on ensuring that education remains our state’s funding priority.

On Monday, January 30, at 6:00pm, the House Education Committee will hold its meeting at the East High School Auditorium. The sole bill for disucssion is HB236, the School Finance “Omnibus” bill. Here are several links of interest:

HB236–http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2017/Introduced/HB0236.pdf

SF114–Education Reform–http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2017/Introduced/SF0114.pdf

Public Comment Link for HB236–http://legisweb.state.wy.us/PostComments/Disclaimer.aspx?CommID=H04

Agenda for House Education Meeting on January 30–http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2017/Calendar/hcom0130.pdf

There are a number of bills still in “play” related to school accountability and programming including the accountability bill that aligns Wyoming’s system with ESSA, leader evaluations, Indian Education for All, Civics Education, CPR in high schools, virtual education–state infrastructure, and more. You can follow the progress of bills at: http://legisweb.state.wy.us/LSOWEB/Session/BillsInfo.aspx

Memos to be released on Monday, January 30, 2017:

Jillian

Summer Food Service Program Seeking Sponsors

News Releases

CHEYENNE – The Wyoming Department of Education is seeking sponsors for a federally funded program that provides nutritious meals and snacks to children in low-income areas during the summer months to combat hunger and poor nutrition. Last year, Wyoming summer food service program sites provided 302,998 meals and snacks to children and teenagers through age 18.

Typical sponsors include public and private nonprofit schools; local, municipal, county, tribal and state government entities; private nonprofit organizations; public and private nonprofit camps; and public and private nonprofit universities or colleges.

Summer food program sites must be either in the attendance area of a school where 50 percent or more of students are eligible for free and reduced-price meals, or within the boundaries of a U.S. Census block where at least 50 percent of children are eligible for free and reduced-price meals at school. Once those criteria are met, the site is open to all area children under age 18.

Sponsors are reimbursed a set amount per each meal served.

Please contact Amanda Anderson at the Wyoming Department of Education for more information on the Summer Food Service Program at 307-777-7168 or amanda.anderson@wyo.gov.

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In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident.

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information
(e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible Agency or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.

To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at How to File a Program Discrimination Complaint and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: program.intake@usda.gov.

Media Contact:
Kari Eakins, Communications Director
kari.eakins@wyo.gov
307-777-2053

Graduation Rates

Superintendent's Update

Dear Superintendents,

Graduation rates were released on Tuesday. As you follow up with your local media and school boards, here were a few of my talking points, FYI:

  • The Class of 2016 posted an “on-time” graduation rate of 80.0%.
  • This marks four years of steady growth, from 77.5% in 2012-13. State accountability system is making schools take a hard look at what they are doing and improve.
  • All schools “not meeting expectations” posted gains in their grad rate – progress is being made!
  • Students in classically marginalized populations saw gains as well. Graduation rates increased in 2015-16 for American Indian students, Hispanic students, English Learners, homeless students, students with Individualized Education Programs, and students that are eligible for free and reduced price lunch.
  • We will continue to aim for the goal of every student graduating from high school and being successful in their next steps in life. Hopeful strengthening of accountability system and statewide systems of support will help progress to continue.

RAK

Attached is a memo about Random Acts of Kindness Week February 12-18. Wyoming’s children and adults engage in RAK every day of the year and we want to bring that to the spotlight in schools. Governor Mead will sign a proclamation for the first time in our state and we would like to highlight your community’s RAKs in our social media. I hope you will help in spreading the word about RAK Week by ensuring teachers and guidance counselors receive the attached memo.

Legislative Session

There are a large volume of education bills this session and education finance challenges continue to loom. To date, no major decisions have been made about school funding. I continue to urge legislators to avoid changes to the model.

Superintendent Balow stands with the principal and two staff members from Southside Elementary School while they hold their plaque at the Superintendent's Policy Summit.
Southside Elementary in Washakie 1 is recognized for school performance

Memos to be released on Monday, January 23:

Jillian