CHEYENNE – The Wyoming State Board of Education (SBE) is excited to move forward with its Profile of a Wyoming Graduate project to define the knowledge, skills, and attributes students should have when they graduate high school.

“The purpose of the project is to take a step back and gather the wisdom and perspectives of all of the education stakeholders in determining what an ideal K-12 system should produce in terms of a Wyoming graduate,” said SBE Chair Ryan Fuhrman. “We, as the State Board, want to make sure that our work and decisions align with the ideals of our state.”

The three-phased approach to develop a graduate profile will lead to the identification of required graduation standards. During each phase, the SBE will offer multiple opportunities for collaboration and communication.

“We want to make sure this work happens with the involvement of districts and doesn’t feel like it is happening to districts. The State Board is aware that this is an unsettled time for education, with COVID-19 and recalibration, but we want to make sure that we provide opportunities for all interested parties to participate in the conversation and creation,” Fuhrman added.

The first phase, Finding the Foundation, will include an audit of existing graduation practices, policies, and graduate profiles from across Wyoming. The SBE and its Advisory Committee will host statewide conversations in an effort to identify stakeholder perceptions about what it means to be a Wyoming high school graduate. The second phase, Producing the Profile, will see continued involvement around the creation of the profile before completing the process with the adoption of graduation standards in the final phase of Setting the Standards.

The board identified the following outcomes for the development of a Profile of a Graduate:

  • Honor the most important needs of students and stakeholders;
  • Assure Wyoming graduates are Life Ready; ready for college, career, or military service and ready to participate in our democracy;
  • Provide a more aligned K-12 education system in Wyoming;
  • Establish guidance for state education policy decisions and standards;
  • Create more flexibility for student experiences, opportunities and innovation;
  • Fulfill the board’s constitutional and legislative duty to establish Wyoming graduation standards.

Wyoming residents are encouraged to join the conversation now by posting their graduation photo to the SBE’s Facebook page and on Twitter with a comment about what it means to be a Wyoming graduate, using the hashtag #WYOgrads. When posting to Twitter, participants should tag the SBE @WYStateBoardEd.

For more information about the SBE and the Wyoming Profile of a Graduate work, visit https://wyboardofeducation.org.

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