Wyoming Early Childhood Outreach Network

Wyoming Early Childhood Outreach Network (WyECON)

Wyoming’s youngest citizens, including infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, hold incredible potential, and the UW Trustees Education Initiative (TEI) is committed to fostering early childhood education and strengthening relationships among early childhood educators statewide. Through the Wyoming Early Childhood Outreach Network (WYECON), TEI aims to connect school systems, Head Start centers, home-based child care providers, and early childhood development centers. WYECON provides professional development opportunities and elevates early childhood education by integrating fieldwork and professional development activities, enhancing accessibility through distance delivery of courses, and placing early childhood educator candidates in diverse learning environments.

Child balancing on stepping stones in a classroom, with a close-up of colorful pencils in a container.

building foundations for early learning

child in carhartt overalls

  • WYECON aims to strengthen ties and facilitate collaboration among school systems, Head Start centers, home-based child care providers, and early childhood development centers throughout Wyoming.

  • The network delivers professional development opportunities to elevate early childhood education.

  • The College of Education offers three early childhood certificates/endorsements: Birth-5, Birth-8, and Early Childhood Special Education.

  • All programs require internships and/or residencies, providing hands-on experience in real-world settings.

  • A university task force is exploring the potential launch of Wyoming’s first early childhood education (ECE) bachelor’s degree program.

  • Early childhood educator candidates receive clinical training and expert faculty guidance through the Trustees Education Initiative.

  • Candidates engage in rigorous and relevant coursework that allows them to demonstrate and apply key competencies.

  • WYECON integrates fieldwork and professional development, creating a partnership and reciprocal benefit between the university and early childhood professionals.

  • Distance delivery of courses and professional development activities increases accessibility for candidates across the state.

  • WYECON provides specialized professional development for kindergarten teachers to support children's successful transition to kindergarten.

  • WYECON partners with state agencies to deliver free professional development through the Wyoming Early Childhood Professional Learning Collaborative. https://www.wyecplc.org/

  • WYECON’s fieldwork placement system places candidates in settings such as Head Start centers, childhood development centers, licensed home-based early childhood learning environments, and mobile early childhood classrooms.

  • Candidates can choose sites close to home, reducing housing barriers and supporting their community systems.

  • With dedicated practitioners and communities linked to new talent development and the resources of the university, Wyoming is making a significant investment in its workforce and youngest populations.

Have Questions About the Wyoming Early Childhood Outreach Network?

Contact US

  Nikki Baldwin  
 

Nikki Baldwin

Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood Education

nikb@uwyo.edu