Wyoming’s plan to improve equal access to quality teachers has received federal approval.
The U.S. Department of Education mandated all states to identify equity gaps and develop plans to fix them.
Wyoming’s equity planning committee found two major gaps. Students in “high poverty” and “high minority” schools were more likely to have high teacher turnover in their schools. They were also less likely to learn from high-quality special educators.
Wyoming Department of Education Chief Academic Officer Brent Bacon says a big part of Wyoming’s plan is working with UW’s College of Education to improve teacher preparation.
“We’re working on a plan to get more teachers graduating from the University of Wyoming—specifically in the area of special education, which is what we defined as one of our gaps,” Bacon says.
WDE and UW are discussing adding a special education major or minor at the college to address some of the unmet needs in the state.
Bacon says they’re just beginning to put the plan into action.
“There’s a small group going to Omaha in December, basically to kick this off and get this organized,” says Bacon. “WDE takes this seriously, and we certainly are going to work to make sure it’s equitable for students across Wyoming.”
Bacon says they made some tweaks to the plan before it was approved this month. Wyoming is now one of 42 states with an approved teacher equity plan.