I’m honored toserve as the superintendent of Laramie County School District 1 (LCSD1), thelargest school district in the State of Wyoming. LCSD1 has great employees whowork with the most diverse population of students in Wyoming. We have studentswho speak more than 30 different languages, students who have individualeducation plans, students in gifted and talented programs, students in theInternational Baccalaureate program and students who are taking collegecourses.

I am not onlyproud of the students but the staff who work to make each student the best theycan be.

Enrollment: 

As of Oct. 1,2019, 14,261 students were enrolled in LCSD1 K12. The district has seenconsistent growth over the last few years at a rate of 1% to 2% a year,increasing by a total of 109 students over last year. We estimate we willcontinue to grow over the next few years at a similar rate. Student enrollmentin the LCSD1 triads is relatively balanced at the elementary level (K6); Easttriad 2,557, South triad 2,472, and Central triad 2,642. At the junior highschools (78) we are at; East triad Carey Junior High 797, South triad JohnsonJunior High 782, and Central triad McCormick Junior High 708. The high school(912) enrollment is at; Central High 1,198, East High 1,414, South High 1,172,and Triumph High 231 students. PODER Academy charter schools enroll 288students K12. LCSD1 makes up about 15% of the total K12 population inWyoming.

Facilities:

The districtis in the process of replacing Carey Junior High. The new school will belocated by East High.  We plan to openthe school in the fall of 2020. We are working with the Wyoming SchoolFacilities Department (WSFD) on a most cost-effective remedy study to plan forthe increasing student population in the district and updating aging schools.Based on the study completed by a contractor hired by the WSFD, our 201819enrollment numbers are over capacity at the elementary level by 221 studentsand at the high school level by 21 students. The WSFD has requested funding foran elementary school in the current legislative budget and in the next legislativesession expansion of all three comprehensive high schools with possibly anadditional elementary. During the upcoming months, the district will moveDildine Elementary to the Eastridge wing adjacent to the old Carey buildingwhile we renovate their elementary school. 

Achievement:

The WyomingDepartment of Education holds schools accountable through the state assessmentcalled WY-TOPP. This year Anderson Elementary was rated as our district’s firstexceeding school under the new assessment. Eight elementary schools improvedtheir state rating, some by more than one level. Four elementary schools’rating declined by one level. All junior high and high schools maintained thesame rating from last year. Our goal is to continually strive to improve ourperformance on the state assessment while paying attention to every othercontent and social area that help students become well-rounded citizens. We areincreasing the amount of time allocated for core (math, science, language arts,and social studies) courses at the junior high level for the next school yearto allow for more instruction time. 

The district’sfour-year graduation rate increased to 81.6% this year, which is the highestgraduation rate in recent years. We are proud to have the increase, but just asproud of our students who have struggled to graduate in five, six or sevenyears. The district staff has put programs and personnel in place to supportstudents who need help to graduate.

Safety:

Local law enforcement and first respondershave been great partners in helping LCSD1 provide a safe environment for ourstudents. Last year, the district initiated a “See Something, Say Something”campaign through which people can use the statewide anonymous tip line(Safe2Tell, 1-844-996-7233), 911 or call school administration to report safetyissues. As we move through this year, we are piloting software to help withreunification of students and parents in a crisis situation, software to allowbetter communication with stakeholders, and software and hardware to helpreduce reporting time in a crisis.  Justa reminder, we need everyone’s help to keep our students safe. Please talk toyour students and report any issues that are concerning and encourage yourstudent to visit with school staff if they have a concern.