Board of Education Continues Work on Statewide System of Support

The Wyoming State Board of Education continues to work on a statewide system of support to make sure struggling school districts have the tools they need to succeed.

A Wyoming Department of Education consultant is working with representatives of professional education groups as well as members of the higher education community to discuss creating a guiding coalition to help plan the system of support.

Dr. Mark Stock with the University of Wyoming's Center for Educational Leadership (WyCel) says each school district has unique needs.

"I think what we'll see is a collaborative effort coming out of this where there's a menu of options and schools that do not meet are given a series of options and allowed to pick the things that best fit the need going on inside that school," said Dr. Stock.

The board says immediate support to schools not meeting expectations on the indicators of the Wyoming Accountability in Education Act needs to be the focus.

"It's really frightening, keep you up at night frightening, to think about how we are behind the ball on so many metrics that are laid out in statute with respect to the statewide system of support," said State Superintendent Jillian Balow. "And I think that that really underscores the importance and the urgency around putting this in motion."