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Annette's Notes
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October certainly surprised us with an unbelievable snowstorm, especially at a time when our first External Review Teams were to arrive in schools. Fortunately, with some quick scrambling, all reviews went off without a glitch. Thank you, Brad Jacobson and our great Wyoming educators, for helping make that happen!
As the seasons change, October is such a great time for teaching and learning. I hope you are all well underway with your school year. It was fantastic to see so many of our old (and new!) friends at the AdvancED Wyoming School Improvement Conference in Cheyenne at the end of September. We were particularly proud of the great keynotes and presentations. We really appreciated having the opportunity to hear some provocative speakers! Thanks again to GEAR UP Wyoming and the Wyoming Department of Education’s Career and Technical Education Division for sponsoring the keynote speakers. They were all great!
I have just recently returned from the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The people there reminded me a great deal of us in Wyoming. They were kind of heart, hard-working, enthusiastic and generous of spirit. I led a team of ten, including Wyoming’s own Associate State Director, Geri Fitzgerald, as we evaluated their school system’s practices and policies against the AdvancED Standards for Quality School Systems. It was a great experience!
Wyoming is deep into the process of conducting the fall External Reviews. It is my hope that those reviewed find the AdvancED process helpful and of value in promoting each school and school system's desire to continually improve. AdvancED is all about assisting schools and systems in reaching their potential for the benefit of those that most matter—the students. It is a great honor to be part of such a meaningful service to education.
Happy Halloween and keep yourselves warm!
Annette
Director, AdvancED Wyoming
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Director Crandall Addresses Conference
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Those attending the AdvancED Wyoming Fall School Improvement Conference in Cheyenne in September were fortunate to hear Wyoming Department of Education’s new Director Rich Crandall’s vision and direction for education across Wyoming. Director Crandall shared his enthusiasm for making Wyoming one of the “top five states in the nation for education.” This comment was met with warm applause. Director Crandall also discussed Wyoming’s potential with distance/digital learning and improved collaboration with AdvancED Wyoming.
Director Crandall has determined that Wyoming has three of the four necessary ingredients to make substantive change: talented educators, economic support and legislative support. The fourth ingredient that remains to be seen is urgency. We soon may be seeing efforts in that arena.
Director Crandall’s comments dovetailed beautifully into those expressed by the other various general speakers: Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs, Dr. Annette Bohling, Dr. James Stone and Dr. Hans Meeder. Those in attendance felt a real sense that education was once again moving on the same track and in the same direction in Wyoming. When that happens, the sky is the limit as to what Wyoming can obtain.
Thank you, Director Crandall! We hope you will join us as frequently as your schedule allows at each of our School Improvement Conferences!
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If you would like to present at the AdvancED Wyoming Spring School Improvement Conference in Casper, March 3-4, 2014, submit your proposal form now to kwright@advanc-ed.org. We are seeking sessions that present useful, timely and practical information. Attendees desire to learn about new ideas or new practices that can be implemented the very next day with little or no cost. Please be mindful of this as you consider submitting a proposal. Proposal submission deadline is December 1!
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Demographics and School Improvement Plan
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It is time to update your school’s demographic information in ASSIST. Doing so will allow us to maintain up-to-date contact information for your school.
While updating your school’s demographics, it would also be a good time to revisit your school’s School Improvement Plan, also located in ASSIST, and revise it as necessary to reflect current actions. These two tasks should be completed by November 1.
If you need help completing either of these tasks, please contact AdvancED Customer Service at 888.431.3669, ext. 5720.
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Can You Name These Conference Attendees?
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There were so many great educators at the latest AdvancED Wyoming School Improvement Conference. Can you identify some that you may know? Take the challenge by reading more of this article from the News section of the AdvancED Wyoming Web Page.
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AdvancED, the home of NCA CASI, NWAC and SACS CASI, is dedicated to
advancing excellence in education worldwide.
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