Education

Several Carbon County District #2 schools closed Thursday for cleaning following a reported case of meningitis.

A bill that would remove county zoning authority from over private schools has received initial support from the Wyoming House of Representatives.

A legislative committee has approved a bill that would override a Teton County decision to keep a private school from being built. The House Corporations and Political Subdivisions committee voted 6-3 to send the bill to the floor.

A junior high school robotics team from Casper has won a state LEGO robotics competition and will travel to Houston to compete against teams from across the world.

For years local school districts argued that they were the ones who should determine how good a job a teacher was doing. Under a bill approved by the Wyoming Senate, they will now have that power.

Speaker of the House Steve Harshman convinced the House to take another step towards school safety.

The State Senate has voted to reduce a spending increase that's used for teacher pay. The External Cost Adjustment is part of the school-funding model and the governor supported an $18 million increase to keep the model constitutional. Tuesday night, the Senate cut that increase in half. Senators Chris Rothfuss and Jeff Wasserburger says the cut to an increase that's used for teacher pay could put the school funding model in jeopardy of being unconstitutional.

The future of the Biodiversity Institute at the University of Wyoming has been uncertain for the last six months. Thursday the UW Board of Trustees approved plans to keep it open.

While many school districts across the state already create safety and security plans, there's nothing currently in statute requiring them to do so. A school safety and security bill moving through the state legislature would make such plans mandatory.

Uinta County School District #1 is once again discussing whether to allow teachers and staff to carry guns in schools.

Wyoming's high school graduation rates are on the rise for the fifth straight year. That's according to the most recent graduation data released by the Wyoming Department of Education, or WDE.

Three schools on the Wind River Reservation are offering free lunches to people affected by the government shutdown.

A bill that would have taken away local zoning policies when it comes to private schools was changed to place private facilities on equal footing with public schools.

The conversation about school safety has largely focused on defending students from a violent attack. That can mean installing new locks and bulletproof glass, but it can also mean creating a different kind of culture. TCSD Kind is a yearlong initiative of the Teton County School District #1 focused on providing safe, healthy and caring communities at all its schools.

A Jackson second grade teacher won the Milken Educator Award. It's the second year in a row that a Wyoming teacher has received one of the 40 national awards, which comes with an unrestricted cash prize of $25,000.

The Wyoming Department of Education is starting off 2019 with a new chief policy officer. But Kari Eakins is no stranger to K-12 education in the state. Before stepping into her new role, Eakins served as the WDE's communications director for close to four years.

When we think about whether our public schools are performing well, there's a tendency to get hung up on test scores. But a new tool will help educators, parents and communities to take a more nuanced look at education.

Only 23 percent of 8th graders in the United States are proficient in social studies. That's according to the National Assessment for Education Progress — or NAEP. Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow said she has heard from Wyoming citizens and educators who are concerned about how well prepared students are to be civically engaged as adults.

While Wyoming's overall population saw a slight decline this year, the number of students enrolled in the state's K-12 schools saw a slight increase. An additional 53 students brought statewide fall enrollment to 93,029.

Developing an app for a phone is a cost-effective way of tackling everyday problems. Students at Buffalo High School wanted to help volunteers for Meals on Wheels and in the process won a Congressional award.

The University of Wyoming has released a draft strategic plan designed to better meet the needs of Native American students and their communities.

An essay has drawn national attention to how University of Wyoming faculty address difficult topics like racism when they come up in the classroom. It was written by Taylar Stagner, a Native American graduate of the University of Wyoming, who is also a part-time reporter at Wyoming Public Radio.

Wyoming's Safe2Tell program has received over 1,500 tips from students since its implementation two years ago.