LUSK – Trustees were given the preliminary results from the latest round of Wyoming’s Test of Proficiency and Progress (WYTOPP) testing held at the district and the results are promising. Lusk Elementary and Middle School (LEMS) Principal Lu Kasper reported her students did well with their testing, making improvements in both math and language. The improvements at the middle school level were attributed directly to the focused and aggressive interventions that were done with students, which included some double immersion for language.

High school Principal Robyn Heth reported success at the high school as well. She stated that every student at the high school who had previously tested showed improvement in one or both areas of testing. Given the previous feedback from administrators and teachers on the challenges of the test, this is especially good news. 

Superintendent George Mirich echoed the other administrators that he could not find out the last time this district consistently scored above the state average and stated that this was a promising trend.

Both buildings will be celebrating their students’ successes with awards and special activities. The elementary kids will be holding their awards assembly and a food fight (at the kids’ request), the middle school students will be going out of town for a special activity day and high school students will be receiving awards as well and then traveling to Scottsbluff for a day of bowling. 

Another example of the hard work of students and their coach was present to speak to the board, the Niobrara County High School (NCHS) Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) team discussed their awards at the state level. Many students qualified for the national competition and plan to compete in the virtual convention this summer. While it is disappointing they will not be physically traveling for the event, they are hoping to take a business tour of the Black Hills this summer. 

Even though they are not going to be traveling, the students have continued to work hard to fundraise for future events and the seniors that have been fundraising for two years will be awarded scholarships out of those funds they have helped raise.

Coach Laura Lyons was also awarded the State FBLA Coach of the Year. Her hard work and dedication to the students, especially the last two years has paid off in tremendous achievements for her students. She is a tireless advocate for both her students and the FBLA program, recruiting aggressively and trying to ensure all the students have a positive, growth-promoting experience. 

The board agreed to financially contribute to their proposed trip to the Black Hills and pay for lodging, transportation and meals. 

To continue the good news, Wyoming Virtual Academy (WYVA) Head of Schools Joe Heywood reported the WYVA graduation rate is anticipated to be around 70% this year, which is a vast improvement over the 42% that occurred two years ago, a low point for the virtual academy. 

Heywood explained that graduation rates for a virtual school are a challenge, given every student to leave the academy does not necessarily drop out of school completely, but it is difficult to get records requests fulfilled to show the student transferred to a different learning environment. 

He also discussed how critical the freshman and sophomore years are to the virtual setting graduation rate. High school Principal Caroline Hickerson has worked hard to track down those students who leave the academy to ensure accurate reporting to the state. Leadership in WYVA has also worked to create an effective credit recovery program for students to get back on track. Through this program, several students have successfully gotten back on track and will be graduating. This is an aggressive academic approach that is beginning to see results. 

The last component for improvement has included individual interviews that Hickerson conducts with each family considering enrollment in the high school setting. This helps determine if the virtual setting is appropriate for that student’s needs and that WYVA will be a good fit. Contrary to previous processes, if a student was already credit deficient, they are not allowed to transfer into the virtual setting. 

WYVA also made a good showing with their senior class where three students received the University of Wyoming’s Trustee scholarship. This is a prestigious merit-based scholarship which requires academic excellence. Students submit their application, high school transcript, ACT/SAT scores and grade-point average (GPA) for review. If selected for the second round they must submit their resume, short answer questions and certificate of good standing. 

After this process, only a few advances to the final round of interviews. All three students are long-time WYVA students and are excited to begin their college career at the University of Wyoming. They were present either in person or virtually and all stated that the rigorous academic load, advanced classes and flexibility WYVA provides are what allowed them to qualify for such a prestigious academic award.

Discussion was held regarding the venue for graduation. As COVID-19 cases again continue to climb in the county, now reaching double digits, the county health officer has requested the ceremony be changed to an outdoors setting. A representative of the senior class spoke and stated they would prefer an indoor ceremony with required masking. The board agreed to leave this decision up to the class sponsor and the students. They will not be decreasing the number allowed to attend graduation.

Following the administrative reports and approval of the consent agenda, the board accepted, regretfully, the resignations of Celine Hall and Claire Heidel. They also approved the recommendation on the classified staff rehire list, coaching and support positions rehire list and WYVA certified staff hires. Hunter Kunerth was approved as the District Special Education Director. 

Reminders on upcoming district events and activities:

Graduation Sunday, May 16 at 2 p.m. at the high school (setting TBA)

Eight grade promotion is Wednesday, May 19 at 7 p.m. at LEMS

WYVA graduation is Saturday, May 22 at 2 p.m. at the NCHS auditorium

Last day of school is May 20.