The document discusses several areas for education reform in Wyoming schools. It notes that while some schools are seeing academic progress, overall test scores in Wyoming reflect mediocrity compared to other states and countries. It argues that Wyoming needs to make real changes to better prepare students for a global economy. Specific reform proposals discussed include sharing best practices between districts, increasing instruction time through a longer school year and school day, implementing high-quality summer school programs, maintaining high academic standards and accountability, improving teacher evaluation and compensation, and appointing a state superintendent focused on education reform rather than politics.

1. Tuesday, January 1, 2013
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Wyoming Tribune Eagle Page A7
Education reform
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A JOINT PROJECT OF THE
CASPER STAR-TRIBUNE AND
WYOMING TRIBUNE EAGLE
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A JOINT PROJECT OF THE
CASPER STAR-TRIBUNE AND
WYOMING TRIBUNE EAGLE
Wyoming schools are making progress, but overall they continue to
languish in mediocrity. It’s time to make real changes in the system.
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L
aramie County School District 1
is a good example of the state of
education reform in Wyoming.
Superintendent Mark Stock
last fall reported to his stakeholders that LCSD1 has seen academic
progress at nearly every school and in
nearly every grade.
That’s the good news.
Indeed, the entire state of Wyoming is
enjoying similar progress. Test scores
are on the rise; so are many other indicators of student, school and district
success.
But what Mr. Stock failed to say in his
message is that even as LCSD1 is seeing
progress, it continues to languish in the
middle of the state in terms of its test
results.
That is the not-so-good news.
It is the same with Wyoming. State
scores and other academic indicators
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generally reflect mediocrity in a nation successes and best practices should be
Competition, including
that trails many of its major internapushed into school districts that are
tional economic competitors in academ- struggling, first through incentives and, charter schools
ic success.
if necessary, from pressure at the state
As with anything else, competition
That puts the Cowboy State in the
level. A joint project of the
A joint project of the
can make schools perform at a higher
Casper Star-Tribune and
mediocre middle of the mediocre midSimilarly, officials should be looking
Casper Star-Tribune and We would like to see a true charter
level.
Wyoming Tribune Eagle
Wyoming Tribune Eagle
dle. It is safe to say that Wyoming is not
outside the state to see what is working
school movement in Wyoming. That
adequately preparing its young people
and seek to implement those ideas in
never will occur under the current law,
to compete in a global economy.
Wyoming schools. It
which requires local apWith that in mind, this state’s educaseems that too often state
proval of these schools
tion leaders – elected and appointed
officials feel they
TALKING have to
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and limits what they are
officials, legislators, school board mem- reinvent the wheel or at
EDUCATION
EDUCATION able to try in terms of
bers, business owners – must continue
least recreate it in “the
innovation.
to press forward on a number of educaWyoming way.” They
Wyoming conservation fronts. Now is not the time to predon’t.
tives who push vouchers
scribe patience or delay in reforming
fail to see that there are
the state’s schools.
not enough schools to
More face time
Over the next year, the Wyoming
make those effective.
Tribune Eagle will focus on the followThey should be pushing a
Wyoming students are
ing issues. We believe it is in these areas not putting in enough time
better charter school law
where the biggest impacts can be made
instead.
in class by either national
on the Cowboy State’s push to academic or international stanThat would include an
excellence. Of course, we will write
appeals process for redards. They spend 175
about other education issues as they
jected schools (or a sepadays in school each year;
rise to the forefront:
rate authorizer), guaranthe majority of states
tees of maximum autonorequire 180. Many intermy under charters and
national competitors
Celebrating
A joint project of the
A joint project of the
proper funding.
require even more.
Casper Star-Tribune and
Casper Star-Tribune and
excellence
A model law can be
Increasing the school
Wyoming Tribune Eagle
Wyoming Tribune Eagle
found at http://www.
year by five days would be
There are good things
publiccharters.org/data/
a good start toward giving
happening in Wyoming’s
Wyoming students more face time with files/Publication–docs/ModelLaw–P7schools and districts, and
wCVR–20110402T222341.pdf
too often they go unreported their teachers. We also favor a longer
school day, including before- and afteror unshared. The state
school programs both to help struggling
Department of Education is
De-emphasis on local control
students and to provide enrichment for
making an effort to capture
those who want it.
No doubt, the concept of local control
and share these.
We also believe that Wyoming needs
appeals to conservatives’ political senBut that is not enough. These
to get serious about summer school. The sibilities as well as the desire for indeloss in academic skills over the summer, pendence by local school boards. But we
particularly for low-income students, is have seen no data that prove it works in
significant.
terms of yielding consistent academic
It is time to require summer enrichexcellence. Rather, the wide variations
ment in all schools, regardless of cost.
in test scores in districts across the state
Year-round school also is an option to
prove just the opposite.
consider to counter summer loss. ReWe support a more centralized apteaching material every fall is ineffiproach at the state level, similar to what
cient and a waste of taxpayer funds.
LCSD1 has done. It requires that all of
its schools teach the same material and
demands that their students succeed.
Accountability/standards
Wyoming never will enjoy academic
and testing
success as long as 48 individual districts
pull in their own directions. As for the
We appreciate and support legislative
argument that districts know what is
efforts to hold schools, teachers and
best for local students, that no longer is
districts accountable for results. On the
valid, given that Wyoming students are
other hand, we worry about the
being sent out to compete in a global
Legislature’s tendency to water down
economy.
good ideas, so we urge legislative leaders to keep the accountability bar high
and demand excellence for Wyoming’s
The push for vo-tech
children.
While we have no objections to
We also find the pushback against
schools preparing young people for
testing a concern. There are no other
vocational-technical futures – such
objective measures of performance.
courses might even serve to keep them
Testing should provide data on student
growth for teachers as well and serve as in school – we oppose the current effort
by some to install certificate-producing
status reports to stakeholders. As for
those who say students do not take these programs in high schools.
First, these programs are expensive
tests seriously, we support making them
to set up and maintain. But more imporhigh stakes: If students can’t pass these
exams, they should neither advance nor tantly, we believe it is the job of the public schools to provide a basic education
graduate.
that will help students better adapt to
economic and technological changes.
Teacher assessment/
Actual training for vo-tech careers is
rewarding of good teachers better done by the community colleges.
2013
2013
and removal of bad
Directly related to the
accountability
effort must be
tough, regular and
unannounced
teacher assessments. These
should do three
things: provide
direction, training
and support to help
teachers get better at their
craft; recognize and reward excellent
teachers; and weed
out poor performers who
are hurting students.
We support merit pay for quality instructors as well as speedier
processes to get bad teachers out of
classrooms. We also oppose tenure or
similar systems that serve as covers for
inadequate performance.
Appointing a state
superintendent of public
instruction
The performance of schools head
Cindy Hill over the past two years,
including a scathing report on her unwillingness to enforce legislative efforts at accountability, proves this job
should not be in the hands of an elected
politician.
Rather, the schools should be run by
an expert in education who is focused on
improving the system, not on currying
the favor of districts, teachers and other
voting blocs.
One option is a constitutional amendment to abolish the office. The other,
which we favor as an interim step, is
creation of an appointed position, a CEO
of public education, to run the system
and to suggest and implement reforms.
This would keep the current superintendent in place to serve on state boards
and such. But it would ease the impact of
politics on the system.