Cloudy, 54° F
After being visited by an accreditation committee consisting of members of the Wyoming Department of Education and other districts earlier in October, Powell School District 1 has received …
This item is available in full to subscribers.
The Powell Tribune has expanded its online content. To continue reading, you will need to either log in to your subscriber account, or purchase a subscription.
If you are a current print subscriber, you can set up a free web account by clicking here.
If you already have a web account, but need to reset it, you can do so by clicking here.
If you would like to purchase a subscription click here.
Please log in to continue |
|
After being visited by an accreditation committee consisting of members of the Wyoming Department of Education and other districts earlier in October, Powell School District 1 has received accreditation without deficiency in any of the 14 categories.
“Our scores were rated as strong to exemplary in nearly every category, and we did not receive a single deficient mark from any of the eight team members in any category.” PCSD1 said in a post to its Facebook account. “Some of the highest ratings we received were in board governance, leadership at all levels, at-risk programs, mental health supports, and teaching and learning.”
Superintendent Jay Curtis said the “unsung hero” of a successful school district is a supportive community which the district has.
PCSD1 has also boasted a high graduation rate in the past 10 years and has exceeded the state average for the last two years. Curtis said this is one of the pieces shown to the accreditation committee to help them understand what PCSD1 believes and how it acts as a district.
According to the data, from 2010-2011 to the 2020-2021 school years, Powell High school has grown from nearly 87% graduation rate to just under 95%. The Shoshone Learning Center has grown from 50%-92% in the same amount of time. In 2019-2020 the SLC achieved a 100% graduation rate.
Curtis said that one of the categories judged by the Wyoming Department of Education is at risk and drop-out prevention. Curtis said that achieving a high graduation rate is “actually really complex, there are so many factors.” He added that to achieve high graduation rates it is very important for students to be at reading level in elementary school and employ interventions at the high school level.
The district isn’t resting on its laurels. This year the school district added a graduation liaison. Curtis said the accreditation committee asked why one had been hired considering PCSD1’s high graduation rate. He told them that the job isn’t done until graduation is at 100%.
“Graduation rate is truly an indicator of overall system health,” Curtis said.
