If you listened to the recent school board candidate forum you heard our teachers and schools under attack by some of the candidates. Claims besmirching the quality of our teachers and our schools were repeated throughout the event. Claims like:
- We are failing to teach the basics: reading, writing, math
- There is an exodus of teachers from Lander to Riverton.
- We have bullying because teachers don’t provide proper leadership and don’t call out the bullying behavior.
- Declining ACT scores over the last 6 years
These claims are false and completely unfair to the many hard working teachers and administrators we have in our district. Let me set the record straight.
There is no exodus of teachers from Lander to Riverton. Over the previous two years we have had two teachers leave our district and start work in Riverton. We also have teachers that have come from Riverton. In no way is this an exodus.
Our district’s report card shows we exceed the state averages in English Language Arts, ACT scores, and Hathaway Scholarship recipients. Our math score is slightly behind the state but this requires context. In our district our math experts have determined the order math classes should be taught is different than that recommended by the state. As a result, when kids take the WY-TOPP test freshman and sophomore years they are being tested on math concepts not yet taught. This hurts our test scores in the short term, but better prepares our students for the future. Even with this built-in disadvantage on the WY-TOPP, we are still only slightly behind the state average in math.
Wyoming is one of only nine states that has 100% of students take the ACT, of those nine Wyoming has the highest average score of 19.1. Wyoming outperforms the national average on the ACT and Lander outperforms the state average. Last year’s LVHS graduating class set a school record for highest composite ACT score with a 21.5. This edged out the class of 2020 who had an average composite score of 21.4. Clearly there is no decline in ACT scores!
Bullying does occur in our schools. Is this because of low quality teachers? Absolutely not! Any reasonable adult will concede bullying is a fact of life. Even so, our schools take the problem seriously. Our teachers are vigilant, when they see an issue they address it. Unsurprisingly, bullies are often smart enough to conduct their activities outside the view of adults. In addition, students have privacy rights, even bullies. So when a victim reports to a teacher or administrator they often will not have any visibility into the consequence the bully incurs. With continued education, anonymous reporting tools, and other creative solutions we will be able to dampen the impact bullying has on students, but it is unlikely any school will ever be able to completely prevent it.
Lander’s teachers and schools are excellent. Next time you see an educator, thank them for their work. They are doing a great job.
Scott Jensen
Scott Jensen 