CCSD#2 'average' by state accountability standards

Carbon County School District No. 2 (CCSD#2) is overall average with regards to Wyoming’s state accountability system.

According to superintendent Jim Copeland, this means the schools are performing at above or at expectations in about half the cases, which is approximately the state average. Encampment School met or exceeded expectations in all areas including grades, subjects and divisions.

The cases of performing below expectations, Copeland said, will be mediated by looking at the students individually. According to Copeland, small class size is beneficial as much as it is harmful for statistics. Administration and teachers are able to look at individual students in comparison with the rest of their class and develop plans for individual students. With regards to percentages, the improvement of at least two or three students could move the school district into meeting or exceeding expectations in a number of categories, Copeland said.

“I want to look at this (small number of students) not to make excuses. I want us to focus in on ‘if we could focus on a few kids per grade in these subjects, it would make a huge difference in our percentages,’” Copeland said.

Meetings between Copeland and the principals to look at data on individual students will begin on Wednesday.

The CCSD#2 Board of Trustees met on Monday at the Central Office. Chairperson Diana Berger presented information from the self evaluations which indicated that some policies should be streamlined and some staff members do not feel close enough to the board. In order to address policy concerns, a policy committee was formed. The first committee will be composed of board members Jim Hinkle, KayCee Alameda and Berger. They will meet with Copeland to discuss policies.

According to Larry Uhling, district curriculum director and facilities manager, parents will also be involved in meetings and training sessions as the school year picks up. On Oct. 1 and 2, CCSD#2 elementary schools will meet with parents to discuss the newly adopted math curriculum. Joe Gaspari, board member, observed two different classes at Saratoga Elementary School as they taught the new curriculum, noting that he was impressed by the versatility of the new curriculum.

Uhling also reported on facilities, noting that the new Hanna Elementary School has had almost all of its warranty work done, and the site of the old Hanna Elementary has been reclaimed and re-seeded. Hanna-Elk Mountain-Medicine Bow (HEM) has had its fire system updated and now meets fire code, Uhling said.

Copeland is meeting with board member and Elk Mountain Town Clerk Linda Crane to discuss a potential community center for town with a gym that the students could use. According to Copeland, the town of Elk Mountain has not yet applied for a grant, but they are gathering partnerships to be more successful during the grant process.