CHEYENNE – In an effort to head off hunger and poor nutrition across the state, the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) seeks sponsors for the Summer Food Service Program. This is a federally funded program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that provides nutritious meals and snacks to children in low-income areas during the summer months.

Sponsors may include public and private nonprofit schools; local and municipal sites; houses of worship; 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 the age of 18.

Last year, Wyoming summer food service program sites provided 294,496 meals and snacks to children and teenagers throughout Wyoming. Sponsors are reimbursed a set amount per each meal served.

More information is available on the WDE website.

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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, sex, disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA. 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 Agency (State or local) where they applied for benefits. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities may 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 complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, (AD-3027) found online at: http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, 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

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

Media contact:
Michelle Panos, Communications Director
307-777-2053

CHEYENNE – The Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) will host a media call-in at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, January 21 to discuss the 2018-19 Wyoming’s high school graduation rate. State Superintendent Jillian Balow and other WDE staff will be available to discuss the graduation rate and answer questions.

Media may join by Uberconference, or by calling 1-888-670-9530 or 307-438-9905. Media may also join us in person in room 227 of the Herschler East Building, 122 W. 25th St. Suite E200, in Cheyenne.

Full graduation rate statistics for the 2018-19 school year will be available on Tuesday morning. Since the 2009-10 school year, the WDE has calculated graduation rates using the Federal Four-Year Adjusted Cohort methodology established by the U.S. Department of Education, which complies with federal law that requires all states to calculate graduation rates exactly the same. Students are counted in the four-year (or “on-time”) high school graduation rate if they earn a diploma by September 15 following their cohort’s fourth year. Five- and six-year graduation rates are also calculated, and can be viewed with the rest of the graduation rate data.

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Media contact:
Michelle Panos, Communications Director
307-777-2053

CHEYENNE – Fall enrollment rose from 93,029 in 2018-19 to 93,832 students in the 2019-20 school year. Fall K-12 enrollment data for Wyoming public schools for the 2019-20 school year is available online.

Wyoming schools added a total of 803 students, with 63 percent of those new students enrolled in Natrona, Laramie, and Campbell county school districts. This marks a large jump from 2018-19, when only 53 new students were enrolled.

“The jump in student enrollment reflects the state’s overall population growth over the past year. We hope this is the start of a positive, multi-year trend that leads to increased prosperity for Wyoming business and industry,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow. “Wyoming K-12 education has been proactive with an increased emphasis on career and technical education, including Computer Science. More high school graduates will be prepared to stay in Wyoming to live and prosper.”

Natrona County School District #1 gained the most students with 291, followed by Laramie County School District #1 and Campbell County School District #1, with both districts adding 109 students each. The biggest drop in enrollment occurred in Fremont County School District #38 with 54 fewer students.

The Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) has prepared the following reports that break down the enrollment statistics:

• Historical Fall Enrollment since school year 1991-92.
• Districts ranked by enrollment total.
• Districts ranked by enrollment per grade.
• District demographics.

This data was gathered from all school districts throughout the state in a snapshot performed on October 1, 2019.

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Media contact:
Michelle Panos, Communications Director
307-777-2053

.gov

CHEYENNE – A joint project between high school students at Casper’s Pathways Innovation Center and Casper College faculty has led to the creation of exquisite, handmade wooden cutting boards with laser-engraved signatures of all five of Wyoming’s elected officials.

Twelve Pathways students each hand-crafted a cutting board out of thick strips of maple, walnut, cherry and ash – and each 17-inch by 14-inch board will be donated by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow to Wyoming charitable organizations as fundraiser items.

The boards were created at the Pathways facility with the help of instructors Joseph Martinez and Rob Hill. Casper College faculty Jason Eggemeyer and Paul Brutsman stepped in to help the students laser-engrave the boards.

Balow approached Hill with the idea for Pathways students to create a board that was unique to Wyoming, and its five elected officials after attending the annual conference for the Wyoming Association for Career and Technical Education (WACTE), where student-made products were auctioned off at the event.

“The Core Construction program at Pathways Innovation Center does community service projects each year,” Hill said. “When I was contacted by Superintendent Balow with the idea, I knew it was a perfect match for our students. We call these types of projects a win/win because students are learning and giving back to charitable causes, while being able to thank our leaders for their work.”

“The cutting boards were top bid-getters at the WACTE conference,” Balow said. “Rob was completely willing and enthused from the get-go to get his students involved.”

The project allowed Pathways students to interact with postsecondary faculty, as well as get hands-on instruction to new industry tools – something Hill said is important, as these students look toward their futures and decide what they want to do once they graduate high school.

“One of the most enjoyable pieces to this project was these were new students to the program who had never created something like this – and they did a great job while learning all of the new tools,” Hill said. “They were able to create something, knowing it would be in the hands of our highest level leaders in Wyoming.”

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High-resolution photo of the students and instructors

Media contacts:
Michelle Panos, WDE Communication Director
307-777-2053

Rob Hill, Pathways innovation Center
307-277-3670

CHEYENNE – Six Wyoming teachers – Aimee Kay, Cheryl Anderson, Jennifer Kelley, Kristy Palmer, Isaac VanDyke, and Cris Williams – have been selected as the 2019 state finalists for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST).

PAEMST is the highest recognition that K-12 mathematics, science, or computer science teachers can receive in the U.S. Nominations and awards are facilitated by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the National Science Foundation.

Kay is a 7-8 grade science teacher at Thermopolis Middle School; Anderson teaches math at Midwest Schools in Natrona County; Kelley teaches math at Jackson Hole High School; Palmer teachers math and science at Snowy Range Academy in Laramie; VanDyke teaches math at Sheridan High School; and Williams teaches science at Cody High School.

Each year, up to six finalists in each state are chosen for the award through a rigorous peer review process. The applications are forwarded to the National Science Foundation, where the final selection for the national Presidential Awardee is made. Enacted by Congress in 1983, the program authorizes the President to award 108 math and science teachers each year in recognition of their contribution to excellent teaching and learning.

Award recipients receive the following:

• A certificate signed by the President of the United States.
• A paid trip to Washington, D.C., to attend a series of recognition events and professional development opportunities.
• A $10,000 award from the National Science Foundation.
• An opportunity to build lasting partnerships with colleagues across the nation.

Nominations are currently open for the 2020 award cycle. Anyone — principals, teachers, parents, students, or members of the general public — may nominate exceptional individuals who teach science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and/or computer science in grades K-6 for this award.

The deadline for nominations is May 1, 2020. The nomination form should be completed early enough to ensure that the nominated teacher is given enough time to thoroughly prepare an application that reflects exemplary teaching prior to the application deadline. For more information, visit the PAEMST website.

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Media contact:
Michelle Panos
307-777-2053
michelle.panos1@wyo.gov

CHEYENNE – The Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) is taking public comment on the proposed Wyoming state plan for the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V). The act provides federal funding for secondary and postsecondary career and technical education in Wyoming.

The 2019-20 federal award to Wyoming is $5,037,372. In order to receive these funds, Wyoming is required by federal mandate to submit its plan for Wyoming Career and Technical Education (CTE) for the next four years.

To help develop the Wyoming state plan, the Perkins V State Advisory Council of stakeholders was formed to propose guidelines and performance assessment targets for school districts and community colleges receiving Perkins funds, in order to provide students with high quality educational and work-based learning opportunities.

Public comment on the proposed plan is open through January 3, 2020. Comments can be mailed to:

Wyoming Department of Education
Attn: Dr. Michelle Aldrich
122 West 25th Street, Suite E200
Cheyenne, WY 82002

Perkins V was signed into law in July of 2018. Wyoming’s one-year transition plan was approved in July of 2019. Each state is required to submit its own plan for Perkins V funding by April 15, 2020. More information on Wyoming CTE and Perkins V is available here.

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Media contact:
Michelle Panos
307-777-2053
michelle.panos1@wyo.gov

CHEYENNE – State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow assumed the presidency of the Council of Chief State School Officers’ (CCSSO) Board of Directors on Tuesday, during the organization’s annual policy forum in Atlanta.

Balow has served on the CCSSO Board of Directors since 2016. The organization, made up of state superintendents from around the U.S., is committed to ensuring that all students participating in the public education system – regardless of background – graduate prepared for college, careers, and life.

As president, Balow will frequently be asked to speak with federal policy makers about education issues. For her platform, Balow has selected “Beyond the Bell,” which seeks to better link high-quality after-school, summer, and early morning experiences to a well-rounded education.

“This is an exciting time to be in education and to serve as president of CCSSO,” Balow said. “My hope is to carry forward the CCSSO mission and emphasize what can be done beyond the bell to create the best conditions for learning for Wyoming’s students and inspire my colleagues to do the same for their states.”

In order to optimize beyond the bell time, Balow said, “Schools, parents, districts, and states need to create opportunities diverse enough to engage as many youth as possible. These opportunities are created by facilitating innovative collaborations in communities across the nation.”

The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) is a nonpartisan, nationwide, nonprofit organization of public officials who head departments of elementary and secondary education in the states, the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense Education Activity, the Bureau of Indian Education, and five U.S. extra-state jurisdictions. CCSSO’s Board of Directors manages the overall business affairs of the Council and is the governing body of the organization. The board is composed of the president, the president-elect, the past president, and six directors elected by CCSSO membership.

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Media contact:
Michelle Panos
307-777-2053
michelle.panos1@wyo.gov

CHEYENNE – The Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) seeks public input on the Proposed 2020 Wyoming Math Extended Standards and the Proposed WY-TOPP 2021+ Science Performance Level Descriptors (PLDs) that will be implemented in 2021. Standards and performance level descriptors for all subjects must be adopted by the Wyoming State Board of Education (SBE) on a periodic basis. Public input received for the Math Extended Standards and the Science PLDs will be considered by the SBE prior to making a decision to adopt at its January meeting.

The Proposed 2020 Math Extended Standards provide scaffolded instruction for students with cognitive disabilities. The WY-ALT assessment, which assesses students with the most significant cognitive disabilities, measures student performance on these standards. These standards are aligned, to and extended from, the 2018 Wyoming Math Standards.

The Proposed WY-TOPP 2021+ Science PLDs will be used to determine student performance level expectations of the 2016 Wyoming Science Standards on the science WY-TOPP test.

Public input is open through January 2, 2020. Input may be submitted online or mailed to:

Barb Marquer
Standards Supervisor
Wyoming Department of Education
122 W. 25th St., E200
Cheyenne, WY 82002

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Contact Michelle Panos, Communications Director, at michelle.panos1@wyo.gov or 307-777-2053.

CHEYENNE – One hundred Wyoming educators will have the opportunity to earn the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Certification for Educators with financial support from the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE). The certification is the only competency-based certification focused on digital-age teaching practices.

Today’s students are “digital natives,” but need skilled educators who can channel their use of technology for high impact learning. For success in their future, students need to be creators, not just consumers of technology, use digital tools to solve open-ended problems, work in design teams to address real-world issues, and communicate complex ideas that demonstrate their knowledge.

ISTE Certification for Educators training includes in-person workshops and online learning, followed by teachers applying what they have learned in the classroom. Teachers document their innovative classroom activities and submit the evidence of the activities in a portfolio as the final step to become certified. The certification process is rigorous, but Wyoming educators will be well-supported by the WDE.

The Professional Teaching Standards Board (PTSB) announced that educators who complete the ISTE Certification training are able to receive an Instructional Technology endorsement. Wyoming is leading the way as the second state in the nation to offer the endorsement after ISTE certification.

“I appreciate the collaborative efforts to recognize and create this exciting opportunity for Wyoming educators and our students,” said PTSB Executive Director Nish Goicolea.

The WDE also introduced Wyoming Digital Learning Guidelines for any educator who wants to learn more about integrating education technology to deepen student learning in their classroom. The guidelines are based on the ISTE Standards for Students. For educators interested in putting the guidelines into practical use in the classroom, the WDE will also offer a Wyoming Digital Learning Guidelines online course. The PTSB will offer .5 licensure renewal credits for educators completing the online course. Completion of the Wyoming Digital Learning Guidelines online course is a prerequisite to engaging in the ISTE certification training program. The guidelines are available digitally on the WDE website. Hard copies may be requested.

“With this financial and program support, we hope to empower Wyoming educators to embrace new trends in digital-age learning,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow. “Anytime we can support our educators in professional development and professional growth is a win for our students as well.”

ISTE developed the ISTE Standards for Students for use all over the world. These standards include “Empowered Learner,” that build student self-direction, “Computational Thinker,” and “Innovative Designer” that establish powerful problem solving skills.

“This is an exciting opportunity for educators in Wyoming,” said Carolyn Sykora, senior director ISTE Standards Program. “ISTE is proud to be working with Wyoming and we are so pleased to see the level of commitment to these educators. Wyoming is leading the country by providing support for teachers who are looking to take technology to the next level in their classrooms.”

For more information about the ISTE Certification for the Wyoming educators visit here.

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Media contact:

Michelle Panos

307-777-2053

michelle.panos1@wyo.gov

CHEYENNE – Several student groups continue to outperform their peers’ test scores around the country, which helped keep Wyoming above national public school averages on the 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as the Nation’s Report Card or NAEP.

Scores are intended to show where Wyoming compares to other states. Unlike the statewide assessment WY-TOPP, which tests all students, NAEP is administered to a statistical sample of students and does not render individual test results for students or their schools. As such, NAEP data represent a sampling of Wyoming students in four reporting areas: grades four and eight in reading and math.

The student groups outperforming peers in other states include students in town and rural schools (above national averages in all four reporting areas) and city school students (surpassing their national peers in math for both grades and grade four reading). Students eligible for the National School Lunch Program (above national averages in all four reporting areas) and Hispanic students (surpassing their national peers in math for both grades and grade four reading) also performed well. Finally, Special Education students (above their peers nationally in grade four reading and math) and English Language Learners (surpassing their peers in grade four math) made positive contributions to Wyoming’s 2019 NAEP results.

Funding Peer States

Wyoming was one of 11 states in 2019 with annual funding of $15,000 per student or more, according to federal cost figures available from the U.S. Department of Education. The peer states include Alaska, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Comparing Wyoming with the peer funding states using NAEP’s Basic or Above achievement level metric renders 40 comparisons (i.e., 10 peer states across the four reporting areas in both grades and subjects). The percentage of Wyoming students in 2019 was higher than its peers in 23 of these comparisons, statistically even with 16 others, and was surpassed in only one case out of 40 – by Massachusetts, in grade eight reading.

“When you dig into the current and past NAEP data, hard work by students and educators is paying off for groups which are considered challenged or at risk in comparison to other states. Wyoming is taking full advantage of the opportunities afforded by our state’s funding model,” said Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow. “Equitable funding is an important factor in Wyoming’s educational success story. Going forward, I am concerned that the cap placed on Special Education funding in Wyoming will negatively affect NAEP data.”

Neighboring States

In 2019, Wyoming continued to perform well in comparisons with its six bordering states in NAEP metrics: average scale scores and the percentage of students performing at or above NAEP’s Basic achievement level. Wyoming’s average scale scores were above adjacent states’ for eight of 12 comparisons in grade four reading and math. Wyoming was unsurpassed by any adjacent state in the 24 comparisons at NAEP’s Basic achievement level (i.e., across the six states and four reporting areas – both grades four and eight and both subjects) and outperformed all neighboring states in fourth grade math.

Detailed 2019 Peer Border States Comparison data can be found on the NAEP website at the following links: Grade 4 Reading, Grade 8 Reading, Grade 4 Math, Grade 8 Math.

National Average

Scores for both reading and math in both grade levels were lower nationally, Wyoming students continue to score above the national average over the last eight years.

“Wyoming schools have a renewed focus on high quality K-3 literacy instruction, interventions, and curriculum. I anticipate this will positively impact scores in coming years.” Superintendent Balow said.

NAEP testing is administered every two years in reading and mathematics to Wyoming’s fourth and eighth grade students, in a digital format. All 50 states participate in the assessment, as well as the District of Columbia and Department of Defense schools. NAEP provides an external reference or point-of-comparison to audit, review, and compare each state’s educational program. Additionally, NAEP provides a stable trend line for tracking achievement during the current flux nationally in state testing programs.

More details on Wyoming’s 2019 NAEP results can be found on the WDE website or at the following links:

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