Wyoming Department of Education
122 W. 25th St, Ste E200
Cheyenne, WY 82002
307-777-7675
Dear Superintendents,
This week’s memos are a blend of business as usual, with modifications to accommodate the times, and new information.
Dear Superintendents,
Memo to be released today:
Earlier today the Office of Governor Mark Gordon issued the following release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 15, 2020
CONTACT: Michael Pearlman, Communications Director
307.777.7437 | michael.pearlman@wyo.gov
Governor Gordon and State Superintendent Jillian Balow issue a recommendation on school closures
CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Due to the unprecedented circumstances facing our state, Governor Mark Gordon and State Superintendent Jillian Balow recommend that all schools remain closed to students through at least April 3. This is a recommendation to local superintendents and school boards, who will make the final decisions on closures. Additionally, decisions relating to the requirement for school district staff to report to work remain with local school boards of trustees. Governor Gordon and Superintendent Balow will continue to monitor COVID-19 developments throughout this three-week period, with the goal of getting students back to classrooms as soon as safely possible.
This recommendation is not necessarily based on epidemiological best practices but is an attempt to allow schools and communities to prepare to operate in a way that mitigates community spread of COVID-19 and minimizes negative economic impacts locally and statewide.
“This is Wyoming, where we are all neighbors,” Governor Gordon said. “While social distancing should be a priority for all of us, it should not keep us from helping out our neighbors. I am thinking of our first responders and healthcare workers on the frontlines who may be without child care. This is a time, if the risk is low, to help one another out.”
The Governor and State Superintendent urge district leadership to work within their schools and communities to ensure the continuity of learning and essential services as determined locally. “In the midst of this pandemic, communities need the latitude, empowerment, and support to make difficult decisions that affect education, economy, and essential functions,” Governor Gordon continued. “While we safeguard the health of every person we must also do our best to continue our daily work for the economic security of our state and nation.”
“Evidence of community spread in Fremont County, two confirmed cases in Sheridan County, and pending tests from across the state have led us to this,” Superintendent Balow said. “Wyoming has over 90,000 square miles where schooling is an essential function in each community – the decision is difficult.”
Social distancing, basic hygiene, and heightened disinfection efforts continue to be the primary means to contain COVID-19 spread. We strongly encourage everyone to continue these practices. Local school districts continue to be empowered to make decisions in consultation with the State Department of Health and local health care officials as to closure and other containment strategies.
Governor Gordon, Superintendent Balow, the State Health Officer, and others will continually evaluate COVID-19 data, guidance from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), and other reliable information to make additional recommendations.
-CDC guidance and other resources are available at https://edu.wyoming.gov/. The State Superintendent is exploring her ability to hold districts harmless from any financial reduction as a result of this ten instructional day loss. In addition, the Wyoming Department of Education has received a waiver from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to allow schools to offer student meals during school closures. For more information, visit: https://edu.wyoming.gov/educators/covid-19-resources/
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Dear Superintendents,
The legislative session kicked off last week. Here is a link to Governor Gordon’s State of the State Address:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKUrbgfoEYI#action=share
Since this is a 20-day budget session, bills need two-thirds vote to be introduced and the work moves swiftly. In addition to the budget bill, there are a handful of education bills–some of which have been introduced. Here are a few:
HB40 – Select Committee on Recalibration- By law, Wyoming re-examines education funding every five years. We rightfully invest a lot into our K-12 system and we also need to take the time to ensure that the system we are investing in provides our students with the best probability of success in school and beyond. With our funding situation and the realization that we haven’t made any substantial changes to the core content of our basket of goods, other than computer science, since the mid-1990s, it is time to rethink what we ask of school districts in law. I am advocating for a recalibration of costs and an examination of the basket of goods.
HB119 – Medicaid claims in schools. We are the only state in the country that ignores this revenue stream and it is the only proposed cost-saving measure that would not cut services for students. Over the past year, the WDE and Dept. of Health have studied the best way to implement Medicaid reimbursement for school-based services with minimal administrative burden on school districts. This bill is in line with those recommendations.
SF79 – Student safety and school security. In 2019 I supported a school safety and security bill that did not make it over the finish line. SF79 helps Wyoming accomplish the goal of every school and district having a threat assessment protocol in place. The bill has been pared down to allow enough flexibility for districts and has been vetted by a stakeholder group of superintendents from small, medium, and large school districts.
SJ1 – Firearm and hunter education elective in high schools. This is an issue near and dear to my heart as an avid hunter who learned hunter safety in PE class.
FCCLA members Gracelyn Troxell and Sophia DeMatteo from East High in Cheyenne, along with advisers Maureen Eldridge and Jessica Gerwig, came to the WDE to help give teammates a better understanding of the national Career and Technical Student Organization. FCCLA offers intra-curricular resources and opportunities for students to pursue careers that support families.
Wyoming’s Teacher of the Year, Dane Weaver, is on the Google Campus attending induction with other teachers of the year.
Memos to be released on Tuesday, February 18:
CHEYENNE – The Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) announced today that high school graduation rates increased to 82.1% in 2018-19, marking the sixth consecutive year of improvement from the class of 2013, where 77.6% of students graduated.
Full graduation rate statistics are available here.
“Wyoming has reached the highest graduation rate under this methodology, which was put in place over a decade ago,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow. “More Wyoming students are prepared to succeed in college careers and military service. Districts have worked hard to increase the number of students who received a diploma, and I am proud of that effort. But we must continue to focus on the 18 percent of students who don’t finish, and work to ensure that high school and earning a diploma is relevant to them.”
Sixteen Wyoming school districts posted graduation rates of 90 percent or above, up from fifteen districts last year:
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, complying with federal law that requires all states to calculate graduation rates the same way. Students are counted in the four-year, “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
Dear Superintendents,
We shared exciting news this week in partnership with the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). 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. Here is a link to the press release to share with others.
L-R: Dr. Michelle Aldrich, Ilaine Brown, Superintendent Balow, Governor Gordon, John Bole. WDE leaders attended the Governor’s signing ceremony for Wyoming Apprenticeship Week.
The annual Innovations in Learning Conference took place in Gillette this week. Along with speakers, panels, and breakout sessions, students and educators were recognized for their contributions.
The Shoshoni CodeWranglers from Fremont County School District 24# stole the show at the conference and took time to visit Gillette’s Maker Space, Area 59, where they made personalized dog tags. These talented kids recently participated in the University of Wyoming Hackathon, a competitive sprint-like team event where hackers collaborate on chosen projects to solve using blockchain technologies, where they walked away with $27,000 in prize money.
Memos to be released on November 11:
CHEYENNE – The Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) seeks Wyoming residents who are interested in serving on the following standards review committees: Health/Physical Education (Health/PE), Fine & Performing Arts (F&PA), and Math Extended.
Standards outline what students should know, and be able to do, by the time they graduate. Standards are concise written descriptions that describe educational objectives. The standards do not describe any particular teaching practice, curriculum, or assessment method.
The Math Extended Standards committee will meet June 14-16, 2019. This committee will work on aligning extended standards, for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities, to the newly adopted 2018 Wyoming Mathematics Standards. Those interested in serving on this committee should complete the Math Extended Call for Participants Survey by April 21, 2019.
Both committees for Fine and Performing Art (F&PA) and Health/PE will meet August 15-17, 2019. Those interested in serving on the F&PA committee should complete the F&PA Call for Participants Survey by April 28, 2019. Those interested in serving on the PE/Health committee should complete the Health/PE Call for Participants Survey by April 28, 2019.
Completing any one of the three surveys expresses interest in participating but does not commit anyone to serving on the review committee. Standards committee members will be chosen from the list of those interested and contacted directly through the email address provided in the survey.
Community Input on Standards
Community input will be collected on Health/P.E., Fine & Performing Arts, and Math Extended Standards during Regional Community Input Meetings at the following locations:
| Date & Time | Location & Address |
| April 23, 2019 4:00-5:00 pm: Math Extended 5:30-7:00 pm: Fine & Performing Arts 7:00-8:30 pm: Health/PE |
Saratoga: Carbon County School District #2 Administrative Building 315 North 1st St. Board Room |
| April 30, 2019 4:00-5:00 pm: Math Extended 5:30-7:00 pm: Fine & Performing Arts 7:00-8:30 pm: Health/PE |
Casper: Natrona County School District #1 Central Services Facility 970 N Glenn Rd. Fairdale Room |
| May 1, 2019 4:00-5:00 pm: Math Extended 5:30-7:00 pm: Fine & Performing Arts 7:00-8:30 pm: Health/PE |
Gillette: Campbell County Educational Service Center 1000 W. 8th St. Board Room |
| May 16, 2019 4:00-5:00 pm: Math Extended 5:30-7:00 pm: Fine & Performing Arts 7:00-8:30 pm: Health/PE |
Pinedale: Sublette County School District #1 Administrative Building 665 N Tyler Ave. Board Room |
The public can also provide input by completing the following online surveys which will close on May 19, 2019:
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Media Contact:
Michelle Panos, Communications Director
michelle.panos1@wyo.gov
307-777-2053
CHEYENNE – The Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) announced today that high school graduation rates increased to 81.7 percent in 2017-18, which marked the fifth consecutive year of improvement from the class of 2013’s 77.6 percent graduation rate.
Full graduation rate statistics are available here.
“We set high goals for graduation rates in our plan for the Every Student Succeeds Act, and this increase – for a fifth straight year – just proves that when we work hand-in-hand with our school districts, good things continue to happen,” said Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow. “Raising the graduation rate is a conscious, concerted effort by all. For students getting a high school diploma is a watershed moment – and it means they are now ready to start a career, go off to college, or join the military.”
Fifteen Wyoming school districts posted graduation rates of 90 percent or above:
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, complying with federal law that requires all states to calculate graduation rates the same way. Students are counted in the four-year, “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
michelle.panos1@wyo.gov
307-777-2053
Topic: EL Webinar – IEL Plans
Time: May 23, 2018 3:30 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)
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