Wyoming Department of Education
122 W. 25th St, Ste E200
Cheyenne, WY 82002
307-777-7675
Category Archives: Superintendent’s Update
State Superintendent Megan Degenfelder sends an update to school district superintendents so they can see the memos which will be sent out the following week and highlight statewide education work.
This will be a brief update written from Thermopolis. I am here under a ruse to recognize the work of PLCs at Thermopolis Middle School. The truth is that Wyoming brought back the Milken Educator Award and the assembly quickly shifted gears to recognize Shannon Hill as a 2017-18 recipient for her work as a Physical Education teacher. The award comes with national recognition and $25,000! You can read the full release from Milken and watch the exciting announcement video here. She was completely surprised!
Congratulating Shannon! (photo courtesy Milken Family Foundation)
The last memo of 2017 will be released on Tuesday, January 2. The memo, in conjunction with a media release, kicks off the public input period for Ch. 41 virtual education rules. The rules comport with 2017 statutory changes.
Here’s to ringing in a new year full of hope, promise, and opportunity for all of Wyoming’s students!
Not overshadowing the biggest news of the week, the opening of Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi, it was a productive week in Wyoming education.
WY-TOPP
Work continues at the state level to prepare for WY-TOPP. This week educators met to discuss the WY-ALT items, our Info Management team worked with school districts to ensure tech readiness, and the Assessment team fielded specific questions and concerns.
Thank you for continued commitment to a successful roll out of the new assessment!
ESSA State Plan:
The 120-day clock is ticking for review and approval of our state ESSA plan by the USED. At this point USED and our staff are corresponding, exchanging documents, and clarifying various aspects of the plan.
Separately, a number of independent organizations are reviewing ESSA plans. One such review by Bellwether Education was released earlier this week. Here is the Bellwether report for all states including Wyoming which received an average rating. The independent reviews are insightful in some ways but one should be cautious of any independent report comparing state plans because:
ESSA shifts authority of education from the federal government to states and local districts. As such, states uniquely leveraged strengths and addressed challenges in their plans. There is not one right way to address education at the state and local levels.
100% proficiency goals under NCLB led to over testing and a focus on compliance. Wyoming is focused on growth, equity, and attaining achievable and ambitious goals based on where our students are today.
Using one comprehensive accountability system (ESSA and WAEA) is a priority in our state. Our ESSA plan meets all federal accountability requirements while our state accountability system is more comprehensive. Not all aspects of our state accountability systems were included in our ESSA plan because they weren’t required.
ESSA provides opportunities for states to revisit target levels and goals regularly.
WDE holds an all staff meeting twice per year. Today’s meeting was informative, festive, and energeticSupt. Abrams officially opens Pine Bluffs Elementary School this week
Kari Eakins here, sending this update on behalf of Superintendent Balow, who is traveling today.
Mrs. Smith’s first grade class at Davis Elementary School proudly showing off their certificates for participating in the Hour of Code.Students at Prairie Wind Elementary School participating in Hour of Code for Computer Science Education Week.
I am excited about the quickly approaching 2018 Superintendent’s Summit (S5S) and I hope every district in the state will be represented. During year one we heard from Senator Enzi, Governor Mead, and experts from across the state. Last year leaders from the legislature spoke candidly and UW President Nichols underscored her commitment to Wyoming students in a wonderful keynote speech.
As a reminder, I invite every Wyoming school district to send their superintendent, board chair, outstanding principal, and teacher of the year to join the WDE team for critical conversations about education from national, state, and local perspectives.
Here are highlights for this year:
Welcome reception and special recognition for District Teachers of the Year
Partnership with Wyoming EXCELS and new executive director Amber Ash for legislative reception
Keynote speech from NGA Education Division Director Aaliyah Samuel on early literacy interventions
Bison Train Tour courtesy of Wyoming Mining Association and BNSF Railway
Relevant and critical breakouts and panels
Social Media
The WDE is moving more and more to social media. Please send articles, events notices, and photos from your school district to thom.gabrukiewicz@wyo.gov and we will help get the word out. Use the links below to stay connected to our website and social media accounts. I also tweet about education in Wyoming regularly and my handle is @jillian4supt.
Because of the Thanksgiving holiday there will not be an update from me next week. If there are memos, they will be sent to superintendents on Wednesday, November 22 and publicly released the following Monday.
It was great to see many of you this week in Casper at various education events. Thank you, Kevin Mitchell, for the time during your business meeting to update superintendents on various topics.
A special thank you to Converse County #1 Superintendent Fenton-Hughes, the local board of trustees, and Nutrition Director Monty Gilbreath for taking advantage of the local producer cost share program to bring local beef and pork to students. It was a privilege to be part of your celebration of local producers. I hope many other districts take advantage of this new grant program to bring local meat to schools and to promote agriculture in our schools.
Converse County #1 Board recognizes local producers as donors
On Monday, Governor Mead signed two education proclamations–Hathaway Day (November 16 was the official day) and Homeless Children and Youth Awareness Month. We hope many communities found ways to recognize these occasions in schools.
On Monday, I experienced one of the greatest privileges of my tenure as State Superintendent. I was the speaker at the naturalization ceremony for ten new United States citizens who reside in Wyoming. It was held at Meadowlark Elementary School in Cheyenne and the entire student body of 5th and 6th graders attended. Meadowlark’s choir sang and the band and orchestra performed (good job Jack Balow). It was moving for everyone and I am grateful to the Honorable Judge Nancy Freudenthal for asking me to speak and to Principal Jim Fraley for including the students. It was a moving experience for all.
New citizens take the oath of citizenshipA Meadowlark student hands cards to new citizens PHOTO CREDIT: STEVE GIRT
WY-TOPP Interim Assessment
The WY-TOPP interim assessment window opened on October 23. To date 40 of 48 districts have accessed the interim assessment. The feedback has been positive and we have resolved tech and other issues within one day. The only way we are able to achieve success with WY-TOPP is through the ongoing collaboration between districts and the WDE. Your tech and assessment coordinators have been engaged with this process worked in partnership with WDE from the beginning and it is deeply appreciated!
Accreditation
Many educators expressed an interest in participating on the accreditation task force. Your willingness to serve strengthens our ability to ensure that the new accreditation structure reflects both the needs of school districts and the requirements in statute. Thank you. We have selected the accreditation task force and will set up meeting dates soon. As a reminder, Wyoming will change the process for accrediting schools beginning SY18-19. This is based on financial constraints as well as feedback from school districts. Click here for the recent accreditation memo.
Next Week
I look forward to seeing many of you next week at your meeting held in conjunction with the WSBA conference and JEIC. Additionally, I’ll attend UW Board of Trustees and State Board meetings and speak at the Casper Chamber of Commerce luncheon. It will also be an honor to help the Casper Rotary pass out dictionaries to students. My Chief of Staff, Dicky Shanor, will update the University of Wyoming Board of Trustees on computer science and Chief Academic Officer, Brent Bacon, will attend the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) in St. Louis on my behalf. Indeed, it’s a busy week. Representing the great work in classrooms across the state is my most important responsibility no matter the event.
It was great to see some of you at the Innovations conference held this week in Laramie. Previously the community colleges and the university held separate events to highlight technology and digital learning. K12 incorporated the information into other, various events. This year we joined forces and the feedback was excellent–I predict this event will grow each year. Participants heard from state and national speakers, learned how to better leverage Canvas, our statewide Learning Management System (LMS), discussed teacher certification, talked about reporting dashboards, and much more. We all benefit from the strong partnership between K12 and higher education.
For the first year ever Wyoming K12 innovation leaders were recognized for their efforts. This year Erin Moore of Gannett Peak Technology was awarded the partnership award. To accept the award was her colleague, Tighe Fagan. Erin and Tighe have helped bring “Coders of the West” from vision to reality. They are excellent partners in education.
Cameron Kukuchka is an innovator in Johnson County. He was recognized for his leadership as an administrator and technology pioneer at Johnson County School District. Cameron embraces his unique role of leading both staff and students to better utilize new technologies.
Library/Media Specialist Julie Weitz works at Sheridan Junior High School. She has fostered a love for reading and technology that extends far beyond the walls of her library.
CONGRATULATIONS
INAUGURAL K12 DIGITAL LEARNING INNOVATIONS AWARD WINNERS!
Tighe Fagan, Cameron Kukcuhka, and Julie Weitz receive awards for K12 innovation and leadership
Cheyenne will be a busy city next week with a Revenue Committee meeting, the Governor’s Business Forum, and a special event, the Tech Jobs Tour.
Another week to note is December 4-10–Computer Science Education Week. For the second year, we are asking all schools and all grades to consider participating in at least one hour of coding. Governor Mead will once again sign a proclamation. This year, I intend to visit schools again as well as “makerspaces.” If you have a school or makerspace in your community that you’d like me to visit, please reach out (especially if it’s a space where students and adults are working together). I am really looking forward to the week!
A cross-agency team from WDE gathered for two days to analyze data collected by Education Northwest. The goal (besides collaboration) is to better align support we provide to school districts through the multi-tiered and state systems of support.
School Visits
Lastly, I have an opportunity to travel next week to rural New York toward the end of next week to visit a unique community school model. This is an exciting and challenging time for all of us to rethink how to enable students to learn and thrive. This community school model in rural NY in focused on family and community engagement for student success. I’ll visit university-assisted community schools where university administration, faculty and students support the development, implementation and evaluation of community schools as an economic and community development strategy and civic engagement initiative. I look forward to sharing what I observed during my visit.
My dad was my +1 at the UW Homecoming Parade. Go Pokes!
This week I was humbled to accept the SETDA State Policy Maker of the Year award in Washington, D.C. SETDA is focused on expanding learning opportunities through technology. Together our work to increase access to quality and relevant learning opportunities is making a difference for students. Here are a few of our accomplishments:
Formation of and work by the Wyoming Distance Education Task Force
Virtual Education Act of 2017
Establishment of a K-20 Learning Management System
Became a Future Ready state
First ever Computer Science Education Week in Wyoming
Classroom Connectivity Initiative
K12 Digital Learning Conference
Computer Science Task Force and policy work
Hathaway Scholarship
Included with this week’s memos is our second annual Hathaway toolkit. Increasing the number of students eligible for the Hathaway Scholarship is one of five focus areas in our statewide vision for education (see http://wyomingmeasuresup.com for information about the statewide vision and focus areas). At the WDE we continue to market the scholarship program to students and families while also working with schools to make information easily understandable and accessible. One key is making the Hathaway Scholarship program part of our culture by talking to students and families in elementary schools. Included in the toolkit are certificates for 6th graders. It is my hope that ALL sixth graders are awarded the certificate this year with the message that the certificate “turns into” real scholarship money after graduation from a Wyoming high school and we are all there to support students on their educational journey. If you have questions or need additional information, please contact our Hathaway team, Jennifer LaHiff or Bradley Barker at (307)777-7675.
There will be a proclamation signing for Hathaway Scholarship Day on November 13, 2017 in Governor Mead’s office.
Upcoming Event
One more time, the Governor’s Business Forum will be held in Cheyenne November 7-9 at Little America. There are multiple conversations that directly and indirectly impact education. Education funding, computer science, academic standards, and CTE are on the minds of many as we discuss the strength and future of our state. It is vital that educators are talking to and partnering with business now and going forward. Leaders from WDE, K12, and higher education are slated to speak at the conference. There is a special government rate that educators qualify for and the deadline to register is November 1. Here is a link to the registration site and agenda:
Since 2015, the WDE has worked strategically and diligently to strengthen professional development offerings. So far in 2017, over 1,500 Wyoming educators have attended conferences and trainings sponsored by the WDE. To meet the demand for quality professional development we have:
Evaluated all trainings and made adjustments to ensure relevance and evidence base
Co-sponsored events with our partners
Added an annual State Superintendent’s Policy Summit (S5S)
Aligned all professional development with Wyoming’s education vision and the statewide system of support
Provided a number of micro-trainings delivered via web conference or on-site in schools
Our marquee conferences are in the works for 2018, including S5S. Training opportunities continue throughout the school year with smaller cohorts of teachers, leaders, and other education professionals. Also, there are many opportunities to be involved on task forces, committees, and ad-hoc policy groups. We welcome new teachers, leaders, superintendents, and others to the conversation.
I firmly believe the the greatest wisdom and expertise about education in Wyoming comes from within our communities and schools. Whether we are learning from one another or making policy decisions collaboratively, the students of Wyoming benefit the most when we work together.
Wyoming Teacher of the Year (WTOY)
It is a privilege to announce Sara Reed as Wyoming’s 2018 Teacher of the Year. She teaches Kindergarten at Hillcrest Elementary School in Gillette. We’ve built the WTOY program over the past several years even with reduced fiscal resources. In addition to utilizing the WTOY to provide input on policy and to advocate for the teaching profession, we have asked past and present teachers of the year to weigh in on policy decisions, standards, budgets, and more. I look forward to continuing to showcase this program through Sara’s leadership and advocacy in 2018.
Sara Reed is Wyoming’s 2018 Teacher of the Year
Finalists for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching
WDE presents on the WY-TOPP at the Math and Science Conference in Casper this week
