New program hopes to shape future of education in Wyoming

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (Wyoming News Now/PRESS RELEASE) - Nine school districts will begin a new pilot program hoping to dramatically change education in Wyoming for the better.

“Wyoming’s Future of Learning”, a collaboration between Governor Mark Gordon, Superintendent Megan Degenfelder, the Wyoming Department of Education, the State Board of Education, and the University of Wyoming College of Education, announced that nine school districts have been accepted into the RIDE Pilot supporting student-centered learning.

The RIDE pilot will support student-centered learning through four areas of focus: competency-based learning, flexible pathways, personalized learning, and student choice.

What does it all mean?

Students will have more power over the content, volume and methods by which they learn. Test scores will carry less weight and instead, demonstrated competency will take its place. Students can customize their learning. They can even gain experiences away from the classroom.

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

“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,’” Shane Ogden, superintendent of Park County School District No. 16, said.

17 school districts across the state responded to the call for applications, reflecting strong interest in the pilot program. The collaborative reviewed and voted unanimously to include nine districts in the first year of the pilot. The districts, including Albany 1, Converse 1, Laramie 1, Lincoln 1, Park 6, Park 16, Sweetwater 2, Teton 1 and Weston 7, provide statewide representation and include both urban and rural communities.