Wyoming Education Association’s Electronic Newsletter                                                                       

June 22, 2005

The WEA produces this electronic newsletter in an effort to share timely information with our members. Please forward this newsletter to members you believe would like to receive it. If you are not an original recipient of this e-mail, please consider subscribing by clicking here.  Please send feedback regarding this e-newsletter to Kathy Scheurman, WEA Communications Director, at: kscheurman@nea.org.  This newsletter can also be viewed online at: www.wyoea.org.

WEA Website:

http://wyoea.org/

NEA Website:  http://www.nea.org

Wyoming Education Portal:

http://www.k12.wy.us

Inside this issue:

Legislative Corner:

q      Select School Finance Committee to meet

The Select School Finance Committee has scheduled a meeting on June 30 and July 1, 2005, 10:00 a.m., Natrona CSD #1 Board Room, District Admin. Bldg, 970 N. Glenn Rd., Casper.  WEA members, especially those who attended a PJP, are encouraged to attend!  This meeting will primarily be devoted to continuing work with consultants on recalibration of model prototype components and prototype model design and format.  Findings from the Professional Judgment Panel process conducted during in June will be presented and discussed at this meeting.  Similar to the May meeting, no formal meeting agenda will be assembled for this meeting. 

q      Share your PJP experience with legislators

Were you a member of a Professional Judgment Panel?  If so, this experience would be great to share with your legislator.  Write an e-mail about it to your senator and representative, or invite them to coffee to tell them about your experience.  Share both the good and the bad.

q      Contact your legislators this summer!

For those of you who have been keeping in touch with legislators over the interim, thank you!  This will pay huge dividends in February.  Keep up the great work.

Plan to attend in your area!

The Children and Families Initiative staff will soon be visiting your community to present Wyoming’s first-ever Family Photo, discuss the information, and help you work on ideas to improve the lives of children and families in your local area. In addition to Wyoming data, you will also get an honest look at how your county is doing. 

All community members can play a role in this effort!  You are encouraged to participate.

The town meetings are called “The Wyoming Family Photo: Tackling the Truth” and will be held in the following locations.  Childcare will be provided and is sponsored in part by Circle of Parents™.  Please come and bring your business associates, friends and families who want to make things better for our families and our community.

Lusk—Thurs., June 23, 3:00-5:00 p.m., at the Senior Citizens Center, 611 E. 6th Street.

Newcastle —Fri., June 24, 10:00 a.m. -12:00 noon at Weston Co. Library, 23 W. Main St.

 

Cheyenne—Wed., June 29, 3:00-5:00 p.m., Laramie Co. Public Library, 2800 Central Ave., Pioneer Room.

Basin—Thurs., July 7, 4:00-6:00 p.m., Big Horn County Library, upstairs balcony area. 

Cody—Fri., July 8, 9:00-11:00 a.m., Park County Courthouse, Barling Room. 

News from WDE:

q      On Fri., June 17, State Supt. of Public Instruction Trent Blankenship announced his resignation, effective August 1, to accept the position of superintendent of North Slope Borough School District in Barrow, Alaska.  The Republican Central Committee must now submit 3 names to the Gov., who will select the replacement state supt.

Gary McDowell, WEA president, says that in selecting a replacement, it is critical that we have strong leadership in the superintendent position.  Blankenship’s resignation creates a void at a critical point in time, due to school finance recalibration and its importance to education in this state.  “We need a real advocate who is knowledgeable and understands education,” continues President McDowell.  We will be watching the situation closely and will update you as news becomes available.

q      WDE on June 22 released the preliminary results of the most recent audit of the Dept.’s Riverton office.  More details are available in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle at:  http://www.wyomingnews.com/.   The auditors have recommended that a full audit of the entire Dept. be conducted.

Deadline for Paraprofessionals Extended               

In a huge victory, the deadline for paraprofessionals to meet the "highly qualified" requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act has been extended from January 8, 2006, to the end of the 2005-2006 school year.

The extension, long sought by NEA, was made public in a letter to Congressman Mike Simpson (R-ID) from Deputy Secretary of Education Raymond Simon.  The letter is posted at:

http://www.nea.org/esphome/para-deadline.html

As a result of the change, the timeline for paraprofessionals working in Title I schools will be the same as that of teachers.  The Idaho Education Association, which has been steadfast in its outreach to Representative Simpson, and NEA lobbyist Steve Nousen were instrumental in this big win. 

“The Bargaining Corner”

As school district negotiations take place in the next few months, we will keep you apprised of the outcomes here.  Please send your final results after ratification and board approval to Cherie Cox at ccox@nea.org, so we can cover your news!

Free Download:  New Resource from the Learning First Alliance

The Learning First Alliance, a permanent partnership of 12 leading education associations, including the National Education Association, has released a new framework for ensuring that the nation's neediest students have access to effective teachers and school leaders.  Titled A Shared Responsibility: Staffing All High-Poverty, Low-Performing Schools with Effective Teachers and Administrators (downloadable at http://www.learningfirst.org/publications/staffing/), the publication finds that our nation's poor and minority students are least likely to be in classrooms and schools with the best teachers and administrators.  In response to this problem, the publication's central "Framework for Action" lays out a comprehensive set of actions for overcoming these staffing inequities.

The result of intensive collaboration between the Learning First Alliance's 12 member organizations, the Framework represents unprecedented agreement among educators regarding the causes and potential solutions of the staffing problem.