Wyoming School-University Partnership
Governing Board Meeting
Casper, Wyoming
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
10:15 a.m. – 1:52 p.m.
In Attendance
Governing Board Members
Dave Barker (Superintendent, Fremont 1), Andrea Bryant (Executive Director, Wyoming
Professional Teaching Standards Board), Boyd Brown (Superintendent, Campbell 1), Diana
Clapp (Superintendent, Fremont 6), Dan Espeland (Superintendent, Converse 1), Paula Lutz
(Dean, UW College of Arts and Sciences, by conference call), Joe McCann (Program Team
Manager, Wyoming Community College Commission), Kevin Mitchell (Superintendent, Park 1,
by conference call), David Nicholas (Superintendent, Washakie 1), Leslie Rush (Associate Dean,
UW College of Education), Ray Reutzel (Dean, UW College of Education), Ray Schulte
(Superintendent, Park 6), Audrey Shalinsky (Associate Dean, UW College of Arts and Sciences),
Tracey Stibitz (GEAR UP Consultant, Wyoming Department of Education, by conference call),
Terry Snyder (Superintendent, Fremont 25), Walt Wilcox (Assistant Superintendent, Natrona 1),
Rick Woodford (Superintendent, Big Horn 2), Jubal Yennie (Superintendent, Albany 1).
Guests
Nicholas Bellack (Assistant Director, Wyoming Professional Teaching Standards Board),
Michelle Landa (Vice President for Academic Services, Eastern Wyoming College), Brent
Notman (Principal, Converse 1).
Staff
Audrey Kleinsasser (Director), Kara Duggan (Office Associate).
Diana Clapp, Partnership chair, convened the meeting at 10:15 a.m. She welcomed all in
attendance and asked each to share his or her name and position. Since there were a few new
participants at the meeting, Diana explained the nature and purpose of the Partnership. Different
from many of the meetings those around the table guide or participate in, Partnership meetings
are not crisis oriented or focused on educational compliance issues. Rather, the organization and
the way it conducts its business asks members and guests to focus on educational renewal, not
reform, in the broad context of the public purposes of education in a social and political
democracy. Overall, Partnership meetings create balance and connections for all who participate.
Diana then asked if there were any questions. Dan Espeland said that he read in the Partnership
newsletter that the Wyoming P-16 Education Council had dissolved and allocated the Partnership
over $27,000. He wondered if there were any strings attached to the money.
Audrey K. said there were no stipulations for the money. The P-16 Council chose to allocate its
money to the Partnership because its work already aligns with the P-16 Council’s agenda,
particularly in regard to the Partnership’s Lost in Transitions initiative. Audrey stated that she
hoped to expand some of the transition events with the P-16 Council money.
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Audrey K. then went on to give a brief history of what the P-16 Council did. The council was
interested in facilitating the transitions across all levels of schooling: elementary, secondary, and
postsecondary. However, the council was largely ineffective in the past few years because it did
not have enough power. Joe McCann, who also was on the P-16 Council with Audrey,
concurred. Diana urged people to think about the sort of direction the Partnership might take,
particularly with the transitions work, and write their ideas on their evaluation forms.
With no further discussion about items in the consent agenda, Diana asked for a motion to
approve the consent agenda. Boyd Brown moved and Dave Barker seconded the motion.
At Diana’s request, Audrey K. briefly overviewed the purpose of the financial report and the
director’s activities. Audrey also informed the group that both Superintendents Jim Copeland of
Carbon 1 and Fletcher Turcato of Carbon 2 have indicated interest in rejoining the Partnership.
Drawing attention to the report about the June 25 Kids, Schools, and Communities that Help
Them Prosper conference, Audrey K. highlighted the event’s financial report and also the NNER
Summer Symposium, June 26-29, which occurred in Laramie. With money remaining from the
conference, Audrey hopes to continue to work around Robert Putman’s 2015 book, Our Kids:
The American Dream in Crisis.
Diana then asked Kevin Mitchell and Audrey K. to give an update on the Wyoming State Board
of Education’s Assessment Task Force. (Both participate as task force members as does the
WEA’s Kathy Vetter.) Kevin reported that the task force is winding down and will present its
recommendations to the state board during its September 23-25 retreat and formal meeting in
Pinedale. The state assessment will take three forms: summative, interim, and formative.
Summative assessments will be collected in grades 3-10 and a college readiness assessment in
grade 11. Kevin emphasized that the task force does not recommend that the college readiness
assessment to be used for accountability. While the summative assessments will be required from
each district by the state, the interim and formative assessments are recommended but optional.
Kevin also explained that the task force recommended that no more than one percent of
instructional hours per school year be spent on summative assessment administration. Kevin’s
final comment related to comparability and the recommendation that at least one other state use
the same summative assessments.
Audrey K. added that the task force consisted of 40-45 people broadly representing Wyoming K12 and higher education, also parents. The task force held a strong consensus that the state
should have a small footprint on a district’s assessment practices. Audrey also noted that task
force members were in strong agreement that the infrastructure for state assessment has to
improve, that the data displays educators receive be more meaningful, and that districts and
teachers receive results in a timely manner.
Kevin and Audrey K. informed the participants that the request for proposals to bid the state
assessment contract could be ready in six months, but the new assessment structure would not
start until 2018.
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Whether or not the new college readiness assessment would be the ACT came up multiple times
during the discussion. Kevin stated that a specific college readiness assessment could not be
named. Audrey K. does not think the ACT will go away considering Wyoming is tightly tied to
the ACT test suite, especially in regard to the Hathaway Scholarship Program.
Joe McCann emphasized the need for a quality college readiness assessment for grade 11 that is
actionable for the senior year and that the time is ripe for change. He stated that educators know
that the current assessments are not accurate in predicting success and that higher education
relies on them too heavily.
Diana then updated the board about work of the Advisory Committee on Educational
Accountability, a committee she’s been serving on for almost four years. After a year’s hiatus,
the group has resumed (an all-day July 27 meeting in Laramie and WebEx meetings). James
Bailey, Uinta 1 superintendent is the group’s current chair. One big change is the move from
federal to state-level accountability. The committee is working with a theory of action that is
simply stated: improved educational leadership produces improved instruction. The July 27
Laramie work produced five foci: a) leader preparation at the university level; b) recruitment
strategies; c) the implementation of standards to increase rigorous training, with tiered
certifications; d) a model of support and evaluation; and, e) ongoing support for leaders
development, especially important to small districts.
Diana then pointed the group to the NAEP and TIMSS national and international profiles
provided in the board packets. The profiles were added to the packets because the report had
recently received press. Dave commented on the fact that while the report is good news for
Wyoming, it might not be the most accurate depiction of achievement. Boyd Brown replied that
while the statistics might not have been the best, he liked the report because the legislators
responded to it in a positive light.
Last, Diana addressed the Wyoming Center for Educational Leadership report, provided by Mark
Stock.
The board then considered a proposal brought by Audrey K. to explore the possibility of the
Partnership becoming the organizational and fiduciary home of the League of Democratic
Schools. Audrey gave a brief history of the League to the group, and her communications with
Dorothy Lloyd, its director. Dorothy contacted Audrey in August to look into the possibility of a
funds transfer since the League’s current home with John Goodlad’s Institute for Educational
Inquiry will be dissolving as a nonprofit 501 (c) 3. The Partnership would serve as a bridge
connecting the League to the National Network for Educational Renewal (NNER). No
Partnership money would go toward the League, only Partnership staff time and effort.
Dave Barker commented that the League was good for creating connections with other schools.
He added that he would like to see a connection to the NNER move forward as that’s a good way
to involve more people.
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With no further discussion, Boyd Brown moved to approve the proposal and Ray Schulte
seconded it. With the approval of the Partnership’s governing board, Audrey K. will take the
proposal to the NNER governing council at its October 1 meeting in Chico, California.
Next, Diana welcomed Ray Reutzel, the new College of Education dean, and invited him to talk
about current college initiatives. Ray first asked for questions from the group. Boyd asked if the
college was fully staffed. Ray R. replied that the college was not fully staffed. In fact, if the
college were fully staffed, it would be over budget. This illustrates a reality of most colleges and
universities. When faculty and staff lines are unfilled, the salaries and benefits associated with
the lines are used to fund part-time assistance, thus stretching the college’s dollars.
Rick then asked Dean Reutzel why the college did not offer undergraduate special education
degrees. Dan added that the school districts struggle to fill special education vacancies, along
with that of home economics and industrial arts. Over the years, the university has reconfigured
special education to be a master’s degree, Ray explained. The university discontinued home
economics education and relocated the industrial arts program to UW-Casper. Rick affirmed that
special education represents an area of need. Ray replied that he heard the concerns voiced and
that, along with educational leadership, special education is understaffed in the college. Ray then
said he hoped to address the issue in the context of the UW Board of Trustees’ Education
Initiative, since part of the initiative is to see what the needs of the state are. Ray said that a
school leadership program will also need support and is even more difficult to staff because
faculty salaries do not favorably compare to public school administrative salaries. The current
educational leadership salaries are too low to entice candidates and the university “cannot hire
the kind of people we need.” He said that the college will need the governing board’s comments
and input once the initiative’s work begins.
Diana asked if the high needs areas in Wyoming are being reported to the university. Ray R. said
his information came from the Wyoming Department of Education and the Wyoming
Professional Teaching Standards Board.
Joe added that the Wyoming Community College Commission offers a support program to
address areas of shortage, but that the program will be sunsetted in 2016 because it is
underutilized. He theorizes that the program is underutilized because it is aimed at university
juniors who already have their financial assistance planned. The grant requires the student to
teach in Wyoming for a number of years, after which, the loan is forgiven. Diana queried if
school counselors knew about the program.
Diana then asked Ray R. what the group should expect from the Daniel’s Fund grant proposal.
Ray replied, “expect change.” He informed the group that in June the university received a $.5
million planning grant to create a proposal for the UW Board of Trustees’ Education Initiative
and the green light to develop a proposal for a $5 million Daniel’s Fund grant. Several subcommittees have been working on the proposal, with one sub-committee looking into hiring a
director of the initiative, and the other sub-committee planning the governance structure. The
Daniel’s Fund is wary of giving money directly to education colleges, so the university’s Board
of Trustees will hold the funds. Ray laid out the timeline of the next few steps. On September 24,
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the Board of Trustees will vote on the proposal. On October 6, the proposal will be submitted to
the Daniel’s Fund, and on November 16 the Daniel’s board will hear the presentation.
Once the university receives the money, and Ray. R. believes it will, sub-committees will plan
for two years, starting in February 2016. The committee will do a SWOT analysis (strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities, threats), study the best practices nationally and internationally –
including visiting preeminent institutions – and survey the needs of the state. Also, the college
will look into what sort of resources it will need. Arthur Levine, a national consultant to the
initiative, believes the college will need $15 million. Ray hopes to go the Wyoming Legislature
to grant matching funds. Overall, the initiative is expected to take 7-10 years to complete. Ray
said that the success of the initiative will be based on the plan, and no one “wants to make a
gigantic mistake on a colossal scale” by trying to rush the initiative.
Ray R. then mentioned that Arthur Levine identified a gaping hole in the preparation of teachers.
The hole is professional development to prepare mentors. Ray said the college is looking into
proposing such a program, one that might take advantage of Wyoming’s instructional
facilitator’s initiative. Dan said he thought it would be a great idea and Rick commented that the
money is there.
The board then continued with a working lunch and the meeting’s grounding activity led by
Audrey K. The reading was a chapter from a 2002 book entitled Cultivating Communities of
Practice. For those members new to governing board meetings, Audrey explained that the
grounding activity served several purposes. First, the grounding is a way to involve everyone
without privileging one reader over another. For that reason, we select readings we think will be
fresh and new to all. Second, the grounding serves to remind and connect us to the NNER, the
Partnership’s parent organization and its core principles. Third, we select the reading and plan
the discussion prompts to model a conversation among peers, perhaps one that might be
replicated in the participant’s home institution or agency. With professional learning
communities experiencing considerable energy in Wyoming, Audrey drew a connection between
communities of practice, the subject of the reading, and learning communities. One key feature
of such groups is the opportunity to provide neutral space to tackle common issues, a focus on
values, and a design for keeping work energy and commitment alive. Audrey suggested that the
Partnership’s Lost in Transition initiative was one such community of practice.
After the grounding, Diana asked the group to open their packets to examine the information
about the June 25 Kids, Schools, and Communities that Help Them Prosper conference. Audrey
K. noted there is still money to support three to four additional mini-grants.
Diana then informed the group that after the meeting there would be an ad hoc committee
meeting to investigate issues about membership. Committee members include Diana (chair),
Andrea Bryant, Shon Hocker, Ray Schulte, Audrey Shalinsky, Kathy Vetter, Walt Wilcox, Rick
Woodford, and Audrey K, ex officio.
Next, Diana told the meeting participants to look at the Statewide Articulation of Highest
Demand Transfer Programs score card and suggested dual and concurrent enrollment should be
something the Partnership focused on in the future. Diana said that the new qualifications for
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instructors will cause issues for school districts. She reflected that her district would not have
been able to have instructors if the community college had not been flexible.
Michelle Landa stated that the accrediting agencies are coming down on the community colleges
about the qualifications because the federal government is coming down on the agencies. In the
past, accrediting agencies have not been prescriptive, but that is changing.
Diana brought the meeting to a close, reminded those in attendance to fill out their evaluation
forms, and asked board members to bring others to the November 4 meeting. The meeting
adjourned at 1:52 p.m.
Governing Board minutes prepared by Kara Duggan, September 30, 2015
Wyoming School-University Partnership
Governing Board Meeting Evaluation Form
September 16, 2015
Session feedback transcribed September 17, 2015
N = 9 responses
All responses from evaluation forms were transcribed exactly as written.
Not all respondents answered all questions.
1.
Reactions, suggestions, recommendations, or anything else you’d like Partnership leadership and staff to know about today’s
meeting?

Maybe design interactive activity after first 45 minutes.

Thank you for your work organizing materials and preparing topics.

Sorry, late (missed a majority of meeting) I always value the conversation.

Good meeting- thanks.

I received great information.

The reading caused me to wonder – thanks.

Impressive group; great framework and purpose.

Always a great conversation.

Great meeting! I enjoyed the information and the discussions.
2.
Did you find updates about the state level committees and task force efforts informative and worthwhile? What additional
information would be useful to you in the board packet?

Maybe spread throughout the 10-2 timeframe [state level committees reports].

Yes - it helped me know that our organization needs to keep better informed about this work.

Yes [updates about the state level committees and task force efforts]; NA [other information in the packet]

Yes.

Great info.

Ray Reutzel’s attendance was great.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes .
3.
The Partnership will be announcing a second call for small, local projects based on Robert Putnam’s Our Kids: The American Dream in
Crisis and the June 25 Partnership conference in Laramie. What suggestion or two would you give planners to make that call for
proposals useful and valuable?

NA today.

None.
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4.
As the school year starts, planners are preparing for the 2015-2016 Lost in Transition meetings involving secondary and
postsecondary faculty in English/language arts, mathematics, life sciences, social studies, and world languages. What
recommendations could you offer to improve broad-based participation?

Announce dates early.

If conversations can be started about the university offering more graduate-level courses in the content areas
throughout these connections to allow more K-12 teachers to earn more endorsements and be eligible to teach
concurrent enrollment courses.

I will reflect.

None.

Think about the calendar? Can that combine with School Improvement.

Reach out to superintendents, possibly through WASA [Wyoming Association of School Administrators].

I don’t think it should be any broader. I like the current focus.
5.
Anything else you’d like us to know?

Great job!

Thanks.

Thank you for the facilitating and for the great conversation!
Thank you for your feedback! Safe travels home if you are on the road today!
Transcribed by Kara Duggan, September 17, 2015
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