Nine Wyoming School Districts Accepted into New Pilot Program

A press release from the office of Governor Mark Gordon stated that nine Wyoming school districts have been accepted into the new pilot program RIDE:

Albany 1, Converse 1, Laramie 1, Lincoln 1, Park 6, Park 16, Sweetwater 2, Teton 1 and Weston 7.

The details of the pilot program are not entirely clear, but Superintendent Megan Degenfelder said that it aims to radically change the way students are educated in Wyoming.

The release stated that the pilot will allow the participating districts to engage in a more student-centered learning design through four areas of focus: competency-based learning; flexible pathways; personalized learning; and student choice.

The grantees differ in their proposed approaches with the program based on their community's needs and goals.

The pilots will formally begin later this summer with site visits and a statewide kick-off in late September.

“Elementary students have a real love of learning at this age.  In our traditional school system these students are loved, guided, and directed in their learning.  However, one negative by-product of this system is that students lose their ability to be creative as they learn ‘the way to learn.’”, said Shane Ogden, Superintendent of Park County School District No. 16. “We are trying to infuse creativity, critical thinking, problem solving, and communication into our elementary students curriculum.  This pilot program would allow us to collaborate with other schools and policy makers to explore how providing student choice and the soft skills of learning in our school will cultivate the whole student into a lifelong learner and leader.”

“We have also done the initial learning around the Profile of the Graduate, and we are looking forward to aligning our curricular frameworks to the profile.” stated Dr. Paige Fenton Hughes, Superintendent of Converse County School District No. 1.

In addition to the work occurring in these nine districts, statewide professional development opportunities supporting Student-Centered Learning practices will also be offered to all schools across the state.