K-12 Education
The goal is to prepare students for life by imparting knowledge needed for critical thinking and analysis as well as training in practical contemporary skills needed in the community, state, and country. Teachers, parents, and children have asked for real change in reform. Our children are our future leaders in industry farming mining and government. In a modern Wyoming and classrooms of technology we can be more accommodating and nimble. As a concept I would like to see each student have a Personal Education Plan based on ability and desire of the parent and the child. A PEP will accommodate a students ability and desires to prepare for life not just college. Core subjects such as math sciences language arts technology and history will be standard. The student should never hear the words “don’t get ahead of the class, or keep up”. Each student should move at their own pace because they learn and consume at different rates. We can accommodate that.
Wyoming kids are having challenges in reading and math. Reading, vocabulary, phonics and comprehension in grades K to 3 are the foundation to future learning. You learn to read from K to 3, then you read to learn. Encouraging parents to read to their children from birth then building on that in formal education greatly enables the beginning student.
Every child has a slightly different input for coding (writing printed text from spoken sounds) and decoding (determining spoken sounds from printed text). Phonics, vocabulary, reading aloud are helpful in developing this process.
Instead of focusing on Grade Level performance in teaching I propose we focus on “subject” performance. Some will move faster in math possibly slower in writing. Allow the student to progress in subject areas they are talented. Offer courses year round instruction so kids can learn in bite-size chunks..
As part of this endeavor I want to add teaching assistants to the classroom to lower teacher student ratio and enhance contact in areas that need assistance. Some may graduate early or some later. Either way we stay engaged and up our game.
Ready for Life Approach
K-12 should prepare kids for life not just college. Life skills, job skills, academic, and vocational in a well rounded curriculum that includes civics and American traditions. Racism, wokeism, social manipulation, gender dysphoria will be eliminated. We cannot legislate morality but as governor I won’t fund immorality.
K-12 Education in a modern world of technology can be modernized. By that I would like to see each student have an individualized education plan based on ability. You should never hear the words “don’t get ahead of the class, or keep up”.
Instead of Grade Level performance move to subject performance. Some will move faster in math possibly slower in writing. Allow the student to progress in subject areas they are talented. Offer year round instruction. Add teaching assistants to the classroom to lower teacher student ratio and enhance contact in areas that need assistance. Some will graduate early.
K-12 should prepare kids for life not just college. Life skills, job skills, academic and vocational for a well rounded curriculum that includes civics and American traditions.
More on Language Arts
There are findings that can make a huge difference to the many students for whom the reading task is made unnecessarily difficult, whether the cause is due to brain anomalies (very few) or instructional inadequacy (the vast majority).
Teaching to ability level instead of teaching to grade number is important. Adaptive teaching practices, meets students where they are, then adapts to their current ability level based on an personalized education plan instead of a group plan. Personalized education. We can always assess their competence directly using behavioural assessments, such as with reading tests.
Recent brain imaging studies have also shown how difficult and exhausting is the task of reading for struggling students. These students have been shown to use up to five times as much energy as do fluent readers when reading. It is unsurprising then that they do not choose to read, and may become actively resistant to the task. Unfortunately, slow early progress predicts a decline in academic progress generally across their primary and, even more dramatically, in their secondary career, as they increasingly lose access to the curriculum. Certain teaching strategies can alter this pattern of brain activation. A number of recent studies have indicated that about 60 hours of structured intensive daily phonics teaching alters the way the brain responds to print. Less right hemisphere involvement occurs, accompanied by more left hemisphere phonologically-based activity as reading improves. These new MRI images now correspond more closely to the pattern displayed by good readers. Importantly, in a study in 2004, the occipito-temporal region continued to develop 1 year after the intervention had ended. The outcomes included increased fluency, accuracy, and reading comprehension.
A recent MRI study of spelling produced similar outcomes. The brain activity of struggling spellers was discernibly different to that of competent spellers. However, when systematic spelling instruction was provided, spelling improved and the MRI profiles altered, becoming more like those of good spellers. Beginning with a need for phonological knowledge, the brain of the emergent speller (given adequate practice opportunities) establishes a new organizational pattern known as an autonomous orthographic lexicon. It enables automatic, rapid responses, without the phonological encoding previously necessary. However, English is a morphophonemic language, and expert spelling encompasses a further knowledge form. It involves an understanding of root words, affixes, and how they are assembled. This third interrelated level is morphological. Their intervention was based upon the Direct Instruction program, Spelling Through Morphographs.
It is something to think about. Bottom line we need to up our game, incorporate new methods. We have the tools in the classroom to do this. “One size fits all” is not the solution.
Measuring Success
One of the key measures of Educations institutional success is its graduation rate—how efficiently and consistently K-12 schools, universities, and college help students achieve their educational goals. In a comprehensive 50-state comparison of four critical metrics: the first-year retention rate, the 4- year graduation rate, the 6-year graduation rate, and the transfer-out rate among public universities. Poor graduation rates signal inefficient use of resources and delayed entry of productive citizens into the economy.
Key Takeaways:
Wide variation in student outcomes exists between children. The approach to teaching should be based on need ability and preference.
College and University Level
-The average 4-year graduation rate at public universities is 34 percent. Wyoming 39%
-The average 6-year graduation rate at public universities is 50 percent. Wyoming 61%
-The average one year retention rate at public universities is 72 percent. Wyoming 40%
-The average transfer-out rate at public universities is 22 percent. Wyoming 19%
The cause of these departures can be attributed to many factors. States with the greatest college graduate “brain drain” have the lowest unemployment rates, Wyoming varies between a 2.5 and 3.5% unemployment rate so the job market is traditionally tight. Community colleges have a higher retention rate than high price big name college and universities due to deeper roots and ties to the community. Also, the same states that lose their graduates at the highest rates tend to take in more out-of-state students. Wyoming receives more students from other states than it sends out. Using 2016 numbers as an example 696 came to Wyoming for school. 459 left for other states. Wyoming sends the most college students to South Dakota, with 84 leaving Wyoming for school. Colorado sends the most students to Wyoming, with 360 entering. Diversity solves none of these problems.
My recommended improvements to Wyoming Education K-16. Policy reforms can boost graduation and retention rates without adding costs for students or institutions.
– Prioritize Course Availability for Required Classes Bottlenecks in required courses often delay student progress, especially in high-demand majors. States can encourage public universities to use course demand forecasting to ensure that essential classes are available each semester. Additionally, implementing flexible online or hybrid course options can help accommodate more students without the need for additional physical space or faculty.
– Promote Competency-Based Education and Prior Learning Assessments by demonstrating mastery of the material, rather than being tied to a fixed semester schedule. States can encourage public universities to adopt competency-based programs for high-demand fields, enabling motivated students to graduate faster without compromising academic rigor.
– Encourage public universities, community colleges, and technical schools to expand assessments of prior learning that award credits for demonstrated knowledge, allowing students to graduate faster. Accepting credit for Advanced Placement (AP) and College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) tests is one way to do so.
– Adopt a Year-Round Academic Calendar One of the most efficient ways to increase graduation rates is to switch to a year-round academic calendar. Many public universities currently operate on a traditional two-semester system, with a lengthy summer break. By offering three full semesters each year (fall, spring, and summer), students can take advantage of the extra term to complete their degrees faster. A year-round calendar can be implemented using existing resources by optimizing course scheduling and faculty assignments, rather than requiring new facilities or additional taxpayer funding. This reform can be especially beneficial for non-traditional students, such as working adults and veterans, who may prefer more flexible scheduling options.
Accept Military Transcripts for Academic Credit Military veterans and active-duty service members often possess valuable skills and knowledge acquired through their training and service. We accept these now but there is exclusions. Credit is generally not awarded for on-the-job training (OJT) or very short courses. Our public universities should fully recognize these competencies so veterans avoid taking redundant courses, which delays graduation. States can require public universities to standardize the acceptance of military transcripts, such as those provided through the Joint Services Transcript (JST), for academic credit.
– Align Financial Aid with Academic Progress Many students drop out because of financial difficulties, even after several years of study. We could mandate that public universities tie institutional financial aid to academic milestones, such as completing 30 credits per year. This policy encourages students to stay on track and reduces the risk of financial barriers derailing their progress.
– Eliminate teaching and public funding of frivolous electives or courses unrelated to skills in degree areas. In college, courses that do not contribute to a degree area are often referred to as electives. Some colleges do not provide enough available classroom seats in required courses. This compels students to take electives unrelated to degree areas in order to maintain full time status and their scholarship. As an example of unneeded electives found In US colleges: Cryptozoology, Getting Dressed, Sociology of Fame, Yeti Hunting, How to Watch Television, The Art of Walking, or The Amazing World of Bubbles. Some institutions use terms like freestanding courses or optional courses to describe these non-degree-related classes. They should be taught off campus, payed for the student or parent as desired but not the taxpayer. This will help bring graduation time from 5 years to 4 years, reduce cost to the tax payer and the student and boost graduation rates.
– Teacher Attrition Credentialing
Do we have a high attrition rate? Take a closer look at assisting teachers to reduce high attrition rates. Is it poor leadership at the top end or something else? The biggest predictors for leaving are related to teacher wellness, mental health, and lack of professional support. They are the key education instrument with the parent. A 2023 analysis placed the state’s teacher attrition rate around 7.8 to 10%. This rate seems high within the state’s own history possibly driven by pandemic related pressures. More recent data (2024) has 7.8% turnover rate for teachers in Wyoming, 7.1% in Colorado, 10.1% in Idaho, and 9.3% in Montana, and 25% in Arizona. Though we are doing better than surrounding states I am uncomfortable with where we are.
Do teachers have the ability dedication and commitment to students entrusted to them to teach train and mentor so they will be successful? Evaluating retention of quality teachers is needed. Teachers need our support. Administrators are helpful however they are there to support not dominate or manage. Lower administrative requirements levied on teachers and allow them to do their jobs. We need to know why education spending in Wyoming is higher than almost every state without improvement in the students achievement.
Preparing Teachers
College degrees in teacher preparation programs emphasize subject matter over pedagogical training neglecting to provide adequate opportunities for prospective teachers to practice core instructional strategies. Current teaching degrees are hybrids that fail to prepare educators for the hands on practical classroom management and instruction, leading to reliance on expensive post education and alternative routes to learn to teach and on-the-job learning. This must change.
What is Pedagogy training? It equips educators with the strategies, theories, and skills necessary to teaching and student learning outcomes. It should provide lesson planning, active learning, classroom management, and assessment techniques, suitable for K-12 and higher education. Key components include developing and creating environments, using technology, and adaptive methods for diverse learners.
– Conclusion There are for-profit national businesses that are predatory and inflict national ideological indoctrination agendas on Wyoming. Wyoming must evaluate and separate from weak national association agendas and commercial for profit interests. Wyoming Board of Education must be self reliant and set a unique higher different standard and metric that focuses on needs of children and achieves the desired outcome. We might consider moving the teaching profession from the University into the vocational colleges. After all it is a hands on skill. Improving graduation rates at K-12 and College level is crucial for the welfare of individual students, for the state, and for the nation as a whole. These recommendations focus increased learning improving the human condition while shortening time to graduation for students.
Excessive years spent in college benefit no one and hold students back in their careers and needlessly increase students’ financial burden. Extra time-to-degree also wastes taxpayer dollars. Public schools exist to educate to graduate. They cannot properly fulfill that duty if students fail to complete their studies in a timely manner because they are required to take unrelated or frivoulus courses.
Some direct quotes from Brent on education:
“In education our rightful spot is No.1 in the Nation, in all grades, all subjects. And that’s where I want to see us going, we have to.”
“I think a lot of our curriculum is Marxist. When I look from 3rd to 12th grade in reading and writing and we’re lucky to hit 50 percentiles across the board. Something is very wrong in our education system. There is one administrator to 2 teachers on average, if you can only lead 2 people, you have no business being in a leadership position.”
“Our administration is big and bloated. The parents are P’oed in Sweetwater District 1. The parents should be able to get resolution without going to court. They should be able to get resolution at the principle level or the superintendent level. But that’s not what’s happening.”
“What oversight do school boards have? I’ve spoken to teachers all over the state and all they want to do is teach. But they have to teach to the test. We need to get technical skills back in our schools. We need our kids to understand how great this nation is. And to understand the basic civics.”
“I want these kids to be leaders. There is no reason with as much money we spend per child in this state that we are not on top. We should expect nothing less than excellence from our public education system. Because that’s our future.”