Message from Superintendent Miller 9/16/2019

Posted Date: 09/16/2019

Earlier today, the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) released the school accountability reports from last school year.  You can view their press release and access the public reports here. 

As with mandated statewide testing, these WAEA (Wyoming Accountability in Education Act) results can bring about mixed feelings and messages to a district’s stakeholders. These ratings come from a complex set of parameters and even though the WDE will use them to help schools with the improvement process, I feel strongly that these ratings should never be the only conversation on student achievement or to measure how hard our educators are working. There is no doubt in my mind that our teachers are some of the most passionate and hard working professionals, and these ratings should not reflect on their efforts. In my humble opinion, these ratings are more of a systemic score showcasing the big picture of a school as well as a district, not the individual members of that system.

With all that being said, we have some celebrating to do! In this rating system, schools are scored in one of four overall categories, “Not Meeting Expectations”, “Partially Meeting Expectations”, “Meeting Expectations”, and “Exceeding Expectations”. Our Glendo schools (all three scoring sections- Grades K-6, 7-8, and 9-12) scored “Meeting Expectations” for the first time! Also Wheatland High School and Peak High School scored “Meeting Expectations” for the first time. Chugwater Elementary also scored “Meeting Expectations” and this was their 4th year in a row doing so! Congratulations to all of the educators of these schools!