CHEYENNE  – The Wyoming State Board of Education (SBE)  honored Brittney Montgomery, Wyoming’s 2022 Teacher of the Year, and Aaron Kruger, one of two 2021 Milken Award winners, at its regularly scheduled meeting in Cheyenne on April 21, 2022.

The board, as part of its desire to showcase programs that are exceeding requirements to impact students and their communities, also received a presentation on the Meeteetse Youth Work Program. The work-based learning program is a collaboration between Park County School District #16 and the town of Meeteese. The program provides students with the opportunity to experience the hiring process and work with a variety of employers throughout the students’ high school years. In addition to employment opportunities, the program incorporates community service projects as a means to engage students in giving back to the community.

The board also discussed the process used for the development and revision of state standards. The committee tasked with reviewing the current process provided its recommendations for changes to the full board. Based on public comments, the committee had focused its work on the “load” of the standards on teachers and students. A summary of the public comments may be found here. The committee also discussed the identification of performance standards, also referred to as priority standards, and the need for alignment between the performance standards and the state assessment blueprints. State board Chairman, Ryan Fuhrman, directed the work of the standards committee to continue and charged the committee to plan for operationalizing the recommendations presented. The full set of recommendations from the standards committee may be found here.

The board approved Math and Science performance standards, as part of the Chapter 10 Wyoming Content and Performance Standards rules.

“The desire of the board is to continue to identify Performance Standards to assist teachers in planning and teaching. The board will continue to ask stakeholders to help identify performance standards across remaining subjects with the intention to better align the state assessment and accountability system,” said SBE Chairman Ryan Furhman.

District applications for alternative school schedules also were reviewed by the SBE. Schools planning less than 175 student days must apply and obtain approval from the state board and must meet the minimum number of pupil-teacher contact hours established by the state board. Districts may apply to be on an alternative schedule for a one or two year term. The board approved alternative schedule applications from nine districts for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years. In addition, five districts provided notice to the state board of the districts’ intent to continue on their current alternative schedules for the 2022-23 school year. The board provided clarification that the board approves alternative schedules addressing the number of days of operation. The state board does not approve school calendars dealing with specific start and end dates or student vacation days. Districts have until May 1, 2022 to submit alternative schedule applications for the 2022/23 school year.

Finally, the board received an update on the Wyoming Profile of a Graduate initiative that included the draft design and possible options. The first phase of the work has been completed and a draft Phase I report was provided to the board. A copy of the report may be found here. Phase II of the initiative will involve vetting the draft profile with the public. For more information on the Phase II public meetings, contact Diana Clapp, SBE Coordinator, at diana.clapp@wyo.gov.

“The board’s work and conversation around performance standards, the standard adoption process, and the alignment between standards and accountability, all is in response to what we heard from teachers and stakeholders during our profile listening sessions,” Furhman said. “Teachers, families, and businesses all want an education that does right for students and prepares them for a bright future. The board is working hard to build on our current strengths to create the system Wyoming deserves.”

Materials for board meetings are available on BoardDocs. Previous meetings’ minutes and materials may be viewed through the board’s website. Follow the SBE  on Facebook and Twitter.

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Media Contact:
Diana Clapp
(307) 851-3478
diana.clapp@wyo.gov