K-12 Transformation Collaboration Involving UW Moves Forward

Wyoming’s Future of Learning, a collaboration that includes the University of Wyoming’s College of Education, is moving forward in its efforts to instill more student-centered approaches in the state’s K-12 education system.

The collaboration recently announced the selection of nine school districts for the first year of the Reimagining and Innovating the Delivery of Education (RIDE) pilot program. A statewide kickoff of the program is scheduled Monday, Sept. 18, from 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at Casper College.

And Jenna Shim, UW’s interim John P. “Jack” Ellbogen Dean of the College of Education, is scheduled to join Gov. Mark Gordon and Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder Friday, Aug. 11, to discuss the collaboration on the governor’s “The Morning Gather” podcast. Other members of the collaboration are the Wyoming Department of Education and the State Board of Education.

“As we launch the Wyoming’s Future of Learning collaborative initiative, we embark on a transformative era in education, one that holds the promise of unlocking the full potential of our education system and our students,” Shim says. “By embracing student-centered learning design and focusing on competency-based learning, flexible pathways, personalized learning and student choice, we empower educators, engage students in their own learning journeys and foster a culture of lifelong learning.”

Seventeen school districts across the state responded to the call for applications for the RIDE pilot program. The collaboration selected these districts -- Albany County School District 1, Converse County School District 1, Laramie County School District 1, Lincoln County School District 1, Park County School District 6, Park County School District 16, Sweetwater County School District 2, Teton County School District 1 and Weston County School District 7 -- providing statewide representation and including both urban and rural communities.

“I applaud these nine districts and their communities for their commitment and willingness to engage in a pilot program that will help empower educators to implement more student-centered classrooms,” Gordon says. “This paradigm shift could provide a unique opportunity for students, educators and parents to partner in the creation of a purposeful, engaging education experience that prepares students for the future. Launching these pilots will give us feedback from classrooms to keep innovating.”

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

The pilots will formally begin with the kickoff event in Casper, a day of celebration and learning designed to support all interested districts to design shifts in the practices, systems and policies that more fully support a student-centered approach in K-12 schools. Gordon, Degenfelder and Shim will be joined by State Board of Education Chair Bill Lambert and others in speaking at the event, to which members of the UW community are invited -- and for which they can register here.

“The state board is committed to supporting schools and communities in their endeavors to innovate and prepare students for their futures,” Lambert says.

In addition to the work occurring in these nine districts, statewide professional development opportunities supporting student-centered learning practices will be offered to all schools across the state.

“This partnership and pilot program are an opportunity to fundamentally change how we educate students in Wyoming,” Degenfelder says, noting that the goal is to “shift from a traditional one-size-fits-all model based on traditional seat time to a model that is based on individual learning needs and interests and partnership with Wyoming industries to better prepare students for jobs -- our No. 1 goal in education.”

The podcast discussion involving the governor, Degenfelder and Shim is scheduled to be recorded, edited and released in conjunction with the start of the new school year on the governor’s website here.