August 25, 2020

IN THIS EDITION

• 2020 Wyoming Education Summit
• Educator Input: Computer Science Performance Standards
• Educator Input: Science PLDs
• Educator Input: P.E. Standards and PLDs
• Call for Health Standards Review Committee
• Marzano High Reliability Teacher Training
• WDE Professional Development Opportunities
• WDE Survey: Professional Development Training Delivery
• WIDA eSummit
• Survey: State Museum Education Programs
• 2020 IDA Reading, Literacy & Learning Conference
• Colorado Association for Gifted and Talented Annual Conference
• Voices of Democracy Audio Essay Contest for Grades 9-12
• Patriot's Pen Essay Contest for Grades 6-8
• Remote Learning Reboot Livestream
• Library Advocacy Conference
• Space Mission Challenge for High School Students
• Survey: COVID-19 Effects on Science Instruction
• National Weather Service Video Chats
• ISTE Conference
• National Social Studies Conference

,September 21-22, 2020, Virtual

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow is excited to announce the first Wyoming Education Summit, Pursuing Excellence Together, via Zoom.

This conference will bring together Wyoming professionals in education to share knowledge and expertise on education leadership, instruction, virtual learning, and early childhood.

The Wyoming Department of Education will host two virtual meetings to collect public input on the proposed 2020 Computer Science Performance Standards. 

Performance Standards are the standards all students are expected to learn and be assessed on through the district assessment system by the end-of-the grade-band. More information is available in this Superintendent's Memo.

Public input on the proposed Performance Standards is open through August 27, 2020. In addition to the online public meetings, comments can be submitted online.

For more information, contact Barb Marquer, Standards Team Supervisor, at 307-777-5506 or barb.marquer@wyo.gov.

Individuals interested in serving on the Health Standards Review Committee should complete this survey by September 12, 2020.

Completing the survey expresses interest in participating but does not commit anyone to serve on the review committee.

Standards committee members will be chosen based on diversity in experience, region and school size. Individuals who are chosen to serve will be contacted through the email address they provided in the survey.

Applications due September 10, 2020

The Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) partnered with Marzano Resources to offer a certification opportunity to Wyoming educators.

The Marzano Resources High Reliability Teacher™ (HRT) program encourages and promotes teacher effectiveness.

The WDE will open its first cohort to Wyoming educators during the 2020-21 school year. As part of this certification, the agency will cover enrollment costs for the two courses included to complete certification for level one. The cohort will be limited to 45 educators.

Visit the Marzano Resources website or this guidebook for more information. All Wyoming educators are welcome to apply or nominate a teacher for the program.

The Wyoming Department of Education offers several professional development opportunities for the 2020-21 school year.

Training dates, descriptions, registration forms, and other information is available on the WDE Professional Development webpage.

Professional development topics/categories include:

• Distance/Virtual/Digital Teaching.
• Special Education.
• Career and Technical Education.
• STEM.
• Literacy.
• Leadership.
• Multi-Tiered System of Support.
• Technology and Systems.

Educators can also sign up to receive emails on professional development opportunities here.

The Wyoming Department of Education requests participation in a brief survey regarding professional development/training delivery methods.

This feedback will help determine training methods and times that will be the most beneficial to educators during the 2020-21 school year and beyond.

Survey input will be collected through August 31, 2020.

For more information, contact Jennifer LaHiff, Statewide System of Support Program Manager, at 307-777-7322 or jennifer.lahiff@wyo.gov.

October 12-30, 2020, Virtual

WIDA is hosting a weekly series of free professional development and training opportunities. Each week will have a theme with a multitude of webinars relating to the weekly topic. 

Educators will be able to access the live virtual sessions through the eLearning Center in the WIDA Secure Portal. Webinar recordings and downloadable resources will be available after the event. Additional information will be available in September. 

For more information, contact Antoinette Hallam, WDE EL Consultant, at 307-777-5217 or antoinette.hallam@wyo.gov.

The Wyoming State Museum offers free programs to all teachers through on-grounds field trips at the museum, virtual field trips in the classroom, and education trunks.

This year, the museum is planning to greatly increase its educational offerings  To help prioritize which programs to initally create, educators are asked to complete a survey of which ones would be most impactful for your students.

The State Museum is also expanding and redesigning its Wyoming Prehistory gallery to focus on topics important to Wyoming. Teacher input is also encouraged for that project through a short survey.

All responses will remain confidential. Deadline for both surveys is September 30, 2020.

November 13-14, 2020, Virtual

The annual Reading, Literacy, & Learning Conference is a source of information for anyone affected by dyslexia and other learning-based challenges.

The 2020 event will feature leading experts in the areas of dyslexia, structured literacy, and research who are transforming the science of reading in every classroom and into the fabric of today’s educational system.

October 19-20, 2020, Virtual

The 43rd Annual CAGT State Conference, Through Their Eyes: A Wider Lens of Gifted, is going virtual. This year's conference will provide opportunities to consider and explore all aspects of giftedness.

Presenters will be examining various lenses of our diverse gifted youth as well as delving into what educators and GT supporters need to know to see the world through the eyes of our gifted learners.

Keynotes are Richard Cash, Jonathan Mooney, Colin Seale, and Julie Skolnick.

Theme: Is This the Country the Founders Envisioned?

The Voice of Democracy audio-essay program provides high school students with the unique opportunity to express themselves in regard to a democratic and patriotic-themed recorded essay.

The national first-place winner receives a $30,000 scholarship paid directly to the recipient’s American university, college or vocational/technical school.

Deadline is October 31, 2020.

October 9, 2020, Virtual

There’s no doubt about it. Remote learning is a challenge. Educators everywhere are struggling with teaching students outside of a school building. But there are ways you can get students to show up, engage, and even be creative in remote learning environments.

The Institute for Arts Integration and STEAM is offering a full day of professional development in remote learning for K-12 educators.

Participate in hands-on sessions exploring how to engage learners online – all from the comfort of home.

September 14-16, 2020, Virtual

Over the last decade, libraries have lost nearly 20% of voter and political support for funding and revenue.

The Library Advocacy and Funding Conference offers flexible, on-demand access to 40+ virtual sessions led by presenters whose perspectives are invaluable to strengthening—or, in some cases, securing—the role of libraries and librarians during these difficult times.

The U.S. Department of Education's CTE Mission CubeSat aims to inspire students to build technical skills for careers in space and beyond.

High school students from across the country are invited to design and build CubeSat (cube satellite) prototypes, or satellites that aid in space research, bringing space missions out of the clouds and into the classroom. 

To learn more, schools can join a virtual information session at noon MT on September 1, 2020.

Interested schools should form a team and submit a mission proposal by October 16, 2020.

Each finalist will receive an equal share of the $25,000 cash prize pool, as well as satellite development, hardware, and software kits.

WestEd researchers are asking science teachers to complete a survey to measure the impact of COVID-19 closures and distance learning on implementation of NGSS-aligned instruction.

Participating teachers will be entered into a drawing for a $75 gift card for completing the online survey before September 1.

A team of National Weather Service forecasters is available to reach into local schools via video chat to talk to and teach students about the weather.

When it comes to weather education, many teachers are somewhat intimidated by the material. With the help of the video chats, the Weather Service is able to supplement or fill in the gaps on some of the weather concepts and ideas that some teachers are struggling with. In addition, the presentations can be archived on YouTube for later playback and referral. 

November 29-December 5, 2020, Virtual

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) offers its annual convention, ISTE20 Live, which will be a real-time demonstration of how to learn in online settings.

Not just another Zoom call, ISTE20 Live is a custom experience that’s immersive and offers a variety of ways to question presenters, collaborate with other attendees and chat with tech company reps.

Plus, you’ll have access to a variety of session formats, a flexible schedule, and hundreds of hours of archived sessions and presenters’ digital resources you can continue to explore for six months.