Dear Superintendents,
This week the WDE announced a formal statewide partnership with the Future Ready Initiative. A number of Wyoming school districts preceded the state affiliation and we hope more follow suit. As a member of the Future Ready Initiative, we look forward to improving our infrastructure to support online education and increase students’ access to quality online education. Leveraging online education is a “no-brainer” for our remote and frontier state. However, a sense of urgency to expand the number of K-12 courses offered to students online can never overtake the priority to ensure that all instruction is aligned with standards, of high quality, and rigorous. Here are links to the WDE media release and an article in the Wyoming Tribune Eagle.
![A teacher guides students in a computer lab as they learn how to code.](https://edu.wyoming.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/unnamed-6.jpg)
Next week a number of meetings will be held across the state. Of note, the Joint Education and Select Accountability committees will meet in Casper. This marks the first discussion about ensuring Wyoming education statutes are aligned with the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Here is a link to the meeting packet with draft legislation regarding accountability (tabs J and K).
![State Superintendent Jillian Balow and WDE Chief of Staff Dicky Shanor hold up a large signed poster surrounded by 5th grade students and their teachers.](https://edu.wyoming.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/IMG_3974-small-1024x768.jpg)
![Chief Policy Officer Lisa Weigel stands in a meeting room with district superintendents from around the state.](https://edu.wyoming.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/unnamed-7.jpg)
Memos to be released Monday, September 19:
- Memo 2016-109: Fall 2016-17 WDE684 Teacher/Course/Student Collection
- Memo 2016-110: Career Development Survey for Principals
- Memo 2016-111: Perkins & CTE Upcoming Training
- Memo 2016-112: 2016-17 Fall WDE435 Collection
- Memo 2016-113: Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Scholarship Opportunities
- Memo 2016-114: Future Ready Wyoming
Jillian