The University of Wyoming Board of Trustees launched the first phase of an initiative to improve teacher preparation at the College of Education.
So far, the Denver-based Daniels Fund has donated $5 million dollars to the effort to be used over the next five years.
College of Ed Dean Ray Reutzel says the next step is a 2-year planning and evaluation phase. Teams of Wyoming educators plan to visit top teaching colleges across the country.
“The College of Education’s programs will go from what is good to what will be great,” says Reutzel. “In order to be successful in this endeavor, it’s going to require the work and the cooperation and collaboration of multiple stakeholders—external to the college and University as well as internal to the college.”
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow says the initiative will eventually impact all Wyoming kids.
“Graduates of the University will go wherever they want, but we also know a lot of them will stay in Wyoming,” says Balow. “So it’s important because it really does impact the future of education, especially when we’re working closely with K-12, working closely with districts to identify the gaps teachers are coming into the career with.”
The College will be hiring an executive director for the initiative in the coming months.