Education

The state Senate Revenue Committee passed two bills that take different approaches to transitioning to a monthly ad valorem tax for the mining industry.

Wind River Cares, a community-based health organization that serves the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone tribes, is piloting a program in schools to provide proactive care for eligible students.

The Sheridan College Agri-Park will once again be open after budget cuts caused the indoor rodeo arena to temporarily close.

The college will now work with the Sheridan WYO Rodeo Board to make it available for rent to community members and manage the facility.

As the director of education and programs at the Meeteetse Museums, Amy Phillips said part of her job is to document history, adding 2020 was a historic year.

This month, a series of virtual events aims to talk about Wyoming's future through the lens of children and family in the state.

The Wyoming Afterschool Alliance and Wyoming Community Foundation are partnering up for the initiative called Wyoming 2030. It aims to broaden the public education discussion by hosting a series of virtual events every Tuesday of January.

The Language Exchange JH program connects two people who want to learn each other's language. So, for example, a native English speaker with a native Spanish speaker. In the past they would meet once a week at the library for an hour speaking each language for 30 minutes.

Bright Futures, a Cody local non profit, focuses on mentoring for youth. This year, the organization decided to focus on helping young women with healthy dating relationships. 

Director Diane Ballard said the organization focuses on milestones in young people's lives. The new program, Empower, focuses on teenagers beginning to date, which is a huge step into the unknown. 

The University of Wyoming plans to start the spring semester classes on January 21. In-person instruction will begin on January 25, with plans to move completely to online classes after a short spring break in April.

Since August of 2019, there has been a 200 percent increase in teachers, administrators, and the public utilizing a free web service called Everyday Native. It's an online resource that aims to provide educational material.

November is Native American Heritage month and the University of Wyoming's Native American Education, Resource, and Cultural Center recently held a virtual speaker series that attracted about 100 students, faculty, and community members.

The state legislature's Joint Education Committee has moved forward with a bill that would require school districts to provide suicide prevention training to students.

The Wyoming Community College Commission (WCCC) has approved Campbell County's application to form a new community college district in a unanimous vote on Friday, November 20.

Gillette College is currently a part of the Northern Wyoming Community College District (NWCCD), which is governed in Sheridan County due to the taxing structure. The formation of a new district in Campbell County would give residents more power over decisions at the college by allowing residents to vote for its own board of trustees.

The University of Wyoming will move forward with its plan to cut 10 percent from its budget.

The UW Board of Trustees approved the administration's $42.3 million budget reduction plan. This comes after Gov. Mark Gordon requested state agencies take a 10 percent cut from state funding due to a drop in revenue.

High school students across Wyoming now have free access to a self-paced computer programming course offered through the Array School of Design and Technology in Cheyenne. It's all thanks to a $3,000 grant by the Cheyenne Rotary Club.

Over the past three years, the Wyoming legislature has passed laws to create a regulatory environment for blockchain application growth. Now, the new University of Wyoming Center for Blockchain and Digital Innovation hopes to help keep this new industry in the state.

Due to Wyoming's economic downturn, Gov. Mark Gordon asked state agencies and departments to make 10 percent budget cuts.

A new Black Studies Center has opened this fall at the University of Wyoming. The center aims on advancing the accurate histories of Black people and history in the state.

The Wyoming Community College Commission (WCCC) held two public hearings on the potential separation of a district.

The Campbell County Board of Commissioners applied to create a new community college district. The proposed district would be centered around Gillette College, which currently belongs to the Northern Wyoming Community College District. Because the district is based in Sheridan where the mills are levied, Sheridan County makes up the representation on the district's Board of Trustees.

A University of Wyoming team is exploring how robots can help with physical therapy.

The Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) has announced it will be receiving a federal grant to improve literacy across the state.

The Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy grant from the U.S. Department of Education will provide $8.6 million in the first year. And if the state remains eligible, it could provide more than $43.5 million in funding over the next five years.

High school wrestling and basketball have gotten approval to start on time this year.

The Wyoming Department of Health has approved plans for athletes to start practice November 23.

The Wyoming High School Activities Association (WHSAA) says it will be using similar precautions used during fall sports, like keeping players in pods during practices and health screenings.