Dear Superintendents,
One year ago, Ramsey Solutions partnered with UW to bring FINANCIAL LITERACY curriculum and materials to every high school in Wyoming. Wyoming did not disappoint — the results were impressive. Ramsey Solutions was founded by Dave Ramsey, a leader in financial management and literacy. Here are highlights from the school year:
- 89% of all Wyoming high schools used the curriculum
- 5,000-plus Wyoming high school students were impacted
- Financial literacy pre and post test scores went from 66% to 85%
- UW featured on The Dave Ramsey Show
- A blog article highlighting UW was #1 on Google
Thank you for using Ramsey to teach financial literacy in your schools! We are now exploring funding opportunities for the upcoming school year and beyond — the UW partnership only provided one-year funding for resources.
I am keenly interested in seeing Ramsey continue to provide resources at low or no cost to Wyoming schools and will keep you up to date. I’d love to hear your ideas and success stories with Ramsey.
CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION (CTE) continues to be a substantial discussion topic as the Wyoming Business Council, Post Secondary Attainment Council, the Wyoming Association of Career and Technical Educators (WACTE), and ENDOW meet to evaluate goals, strategies and actions. Business and industry are well-represented in the discussion about how the newly enacted Perkins V funding will be structured and implemented.
Schools of all sizes are taking the lead and thinking innovatively about how to deliver relevant, scaleable, and valued CTE pathways to more students. Your partnership with local business and industry is key. The WDE has recently provided technical assistance to several industry partners and schools interested in setting up apprenticeships.
This week the U.S. Department of Labor announced major milestones in the continuing effort to expand apprenticeships. First, it published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to establish a process to advance the development of high-quality, industry-recognized apprenticeship programs, known as IRAPs. Second, it awarded $183.8 million to support the development and expansion of apprenticeships for educational institutions partnering with businesses that provide a funding match component.
Successful apprenticeships rely on ongoing collaboration among K-12, higher education (community colleges), and business and industry.
WDE Career and Technical Education teammates Dr. Michelle Aldrich and Ilaine Brown dropped by the Laramie County Community College’s booth at the SkillsUSA Championships in Lexington, KY recently.
SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT
Last week, the U.S. Dept of Education (USED) released final non-regulatory guidance for “supplement not supplant.” This changed under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to provide greater flexibility to districts while still ensuring that federal funds are supplemental to state funds and cannot be used to replace them.
The guidance explains how ESSA modified the requirement to reduce administrative burden, simplify compliance, and promote effective spending. To comply with the new requirement, a district need only show that its methodology to allocate state and local resources to schools does not take into account a school’s Title I status. For many, the requirement can be met using the district’s current methodology for allocating state and local resources.
Federal programs staff at the WDE is always available to assist schools and districts ensure maximum spending flexibility and compliance with state and federal law.
Superintendent Jillian Balow and WDE teammate Thom Jones were joined by Kathy Escobedo, Early Intervention and Education Program, Unit Manager, BHD, at the Wyoming Department of Health and Alisha Rone, Executive Director at Child Development Center in Casper, as part of the task force working to implement Waterford UPSTART in Wyoming.
STUDENT SAFETY
The USED is currently accepting applications from entities, including schools and districts, for three grant competitions that support locally tailored approaches to school safety The grants align with recommendations from the Federal Commission on School Safety’s final report.
PROJECT PREVENT GRANT PROGRAM
This program helps Local Education Agencies (LEAs) enhance their ability to identify, assess and serve students exposed to pervasive violence. Funds from this $10 million grant competition can be used to provide mental health services for trauma or anxiety; support conflict resolution programs; and implement other school – based violence prevention strategies. The deadline to apply is July 15, 2019.
SCHOOL CLIMATE TRANSFORMATION GRANT PROGRAM
This $40 million grant competition provides funds to LEAs to develop, enhance, or expand systems of support for schools implementing strategies to improve learning conditions and promote positive school culture for all students. The deadline to apply is July 22, 2019.
MENTAL HEALTH SERVICE PROFESSIONAL DEMONSTRATION GRANT PROGRAM
This $15 million grant competition promotes partnerships between colleges or universities and high-need school districts in order to expand the pipeline of trained school-based mental health services providers. The deadline to apply is Aug. 5, 2019.
WDE teammates were among the participants at the Open Education Resource (OER) Workshop, where a group exercise was to create what one attendee called the “inspiration headset generator.”
Memos to be released on July 1:
- 2019-075 – Chapter 2 and Chapter 20 Rules Public Comment and Hearing: Transportation
