CHEYENNE – U.S. Senator Mike Enzi and State Superintendent Jillian Balow announced today that officials from the U.S. Department of Education (USED) will participate in a Community Roundtable on implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) at Casper College on October 26.
“Due to Senator Enzi’s major role in overhauling No Child Left Behind and getting us to ESSA, Wyoming is one of a handful of states that the USED is visiting in person to hold a discussion on what it will look like in practice. We appreciate their willingness to travel to Casper and listen to our concerns related to federal education policy and how it affects rural states like Wyoming.” said Superintendent Balow.
Senator Enzi will be unable to attend the roundtable, but adds, “When Congress passed this new education law, our intent was clear – we want authority of education policy to rest with the states. The U.S. Department of Education needs to heed this directive in its implementation process. I am pleased that the department chose Wyoming as a state to visit, we have a lot of insight to share.”
USED officials will participate in a listening session in which the public is invited to share ideas and provide meaningful input on how ESSA affects Wyoming and rural states. In addition, staff from the Wyoming Department of Education will collect input specific to the development of Wyoming’s plan for implementation of ESSA.
The Community Roundtable will go from 9:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in CS-160 Nichols Auditorium at Casper College.
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Media Contact:
Kari Eakins, Communications Director
kari.eakins@wyo.gov
307-777-2053
The WDE continues to welcome new educators and subject matter experts into key positions—our team grows stronger every day! First, Shelley Hamel joins us as the new Director of School Support. She previously served as the Special Education Director in Douglas—her leadership is a mainstay in Wyoming education and we are fortunate to have her lead work in CTE, federal programs, and more. Next, Laurie Hernandez was appointed as the Interim Director of Standards and Assessment. She successfully led the science standards committee work –she’s the right person to lead staff and stakeholders through this transition. Mike Flicek, who works with WDE on a number of data and assessment projects, will temporarily fill the role of assessment administrator. We intend to conduct a national search for a new assessment administrator. Meanwhile, Laurie and Mike will oversee the RFP and statewide assessment procurement work.
Upcoming ESSA Roundtable
We are nearly finished planning the ESSA roundtable with the United States Department of Education. As you’ll recall, the USDOE selected Wyoming as one of seven states to seek feedback from during a “listening session.” Here is a tentative agenda for the event. It will be held October 26 at Casper College. Please plan to attend and invite others to join you. This is a unique opportunity for Wyoming’s education voice to be heard.
Dr. Rebecca Watts, Exec Director of the UW Trustees Education Initiative, Canyon Hardesty and Dr. Mark Stock of UW, and I represent Wyoming at the Rural Education Forum
Rural Education Forum
This week I attended a convening for rural education. Chiefs from rural states met in Ohio to discuss ESSA implementation, Native American education, equity in rural states, teachers as leaders, and more. I am enthused about the direction we are headed as a nation and grateful to have strong State Chiefs in rural states. The next president of CCSSO is South Dakota’s Melody Schopp and I expect to see rural education leaders continue to have a distinct voice at the table.
WeTip to Safe2Tell
Below is a memo for Wyoming Safe-2-Tell. This program REPLACES the WeTip program. Please advise building principals and/or school safety coordinators to remove WeTip posters and information. The Department of Homeland Security, the Attorney General’s Office, the Wyoming Legislature, and the WDE have worked for quite some time to put this program in place and we are all anxious to roll it out.
Teachers Hunt and More
Finally, last week was the 4th Wyoming Women’s Antelope Hunt. It was an honor to co-chair the event with Chief Justice Marilyn Kite. The event is also a fundraiser for the Wyoming Women’s Foundation which lends its support to self-sufficiency among women by providing resources, scholarships, and information. 37 of 45 hunters filled their tags. I gave lots of shout outs to the teachers who hunted, guided, and/or volunteered. It was very neat to have educators at the event!
Wyoming teachers/first time hunters received scholarships to participate in the Wyoming Women’s Antelope Hunt–All three had a successful hunt!
CHEYENNE – The Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) released school performance ratings today. The state accountability measure shows that over half of Wyoming schools are meeting or exceeding expectations.
School Performance Data 2016 – pie
“This year we have more schools meeting or exceeding expectations than ever before,” said State Superintendent Jillian Balow. “We’ve seen schools and communities focus their efforts on proven practices and take advantage of what is working in our top districts. These improvements are something to be very proud of as we look to create opportunities for students to keep Wyoming strong.”
School Performance Data 2016 – table
This data does not include school performance ratings for Wyoming’s 21 alternative high schools. An alternative high school accountability model is being piloted during the 2016-17 school year.
School Performance Data 2016 (1)
Under the Wyoming Accountability in Education Act, schools serving grades 3-8 are rated on achievement, growth, and equity indicators. Indicators for high schools also include graduation rates, 9th grade credits earned, and Hathaway Scholarship eligibility. Before the next legislative session, the Advisory Committee to the Select Committee on Statewide Education Accountability will recommend an additional indicator for the state accountability model as part of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
“Wyoming has a strong accountability system and ESSA gives us a chance to make it even better,” said former State Superintendent Judy Catchpole. “As chair of the Advisory Committee, we are working diligently to ensure that Wyoming students remain our first priority as we transition into this new federal law.”
As part of Wyoming’s transition to ESSA, the WDE did not make federal accountability determinations this year. Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) does not exist under ESSA. For the 2016-17 transition year, schools and districts identified as being in improvement under No Child Left Behind will remain in their current improvement status for the next year. Once ESSA is fully implemented, Wyoming will use its state accountability model to make both state and federal accountability determinations.
We are excited to report a successful Coders of the West pilot that connects K-16 students with industry in a project-based computer coding “camp.” I had the opportunity to speak to the aspiring coders and one student asked the all important question, “Why did you choose coding as an education initiative?” My response was along this line:
The ability to code is a skill that indicates a student is literate in what is “behind the curtain” on our computers and smart phones. It’s a skill that is becoming more sought after by higher education, business, and industry. As Wyoming looks for ways to diversify its economy, we need look no further than our future; our students. When we equip students with skills for tomorrow’s world, like coding, diversification is organic. The work to grow technology as a viable economic sector in our state is underway with facilities and upstarts like NCAR, Microsoft, Greenhouse Data, Gannett Peak, Ptolemy, and others. Coding for all students and intensive pathways of advanced coding for some students is the goal and Coders of the West helps build the momentum around this initiative.
Coders continues this week and ten students have elected to be mentored by industry partners throughout the school year.
Students in a computer lab working on their coding skills.
Coders of the West in Sheridan
The WDE recently released the 2017 Wyoming Digital Learning Plan for public comment at http://edu.wyoming.gov/tech. The plan is designed to support districts in providing equitable education opportunities for students through the use of digital learning knowing that quality of digital learning as well as access are challenges we all face. The Plan is a culmination of input received from a statewide listening tour, digital learning readiness surveys, and focus groups. On area emphasized in the report is the need for professional development. The final plan will be released on October 1, 2016.
Additional Updates:
ACT scores will be released Monday, August 15, 2016. Here is a link to the media announcement. Thank you to school districts and the WDE Assessment Team for successfully transitioning to the ACT Aspire test which was administered almost exclusively online in 2016.
