Transforming Education in Wyoming

A Statewide Approach to Student-Centered Learning

Wyoming

The Challenge:
Why Change Was Needed

Wyoming’s education system needed a shift. Traditional instructional and assessment models weren’t engaging students or preparing them for the future. In May 2021, Governor Mark Gordon launched the RIDE Advisory group, tasked with elevating the Wyoming Education system by Reimagining and Innovating the Delivery of Education.   The RIDE Advisory group anchored their process in the local community's vision for the future of their learners and conducted listening tours across the state and confirmed the need for a student-centered transformation in their final recommendations.

 Key Issues:

• Outdated teaching and assessment practices.

• Limited student-centered learning opportunities.

• Need for greater workforce readiness.

• Policies, rules, and regulations that require clarification and limited student-centered learning opportunities.

What Wyoming Needed:

• A new approach to instruction & assessment that increased opportunities for student agency, development of essential skills, authentic learning, and work-based learning opportunities.

• A scalable, sustainable way to transform learning statewide.

• Support for educators to lead change in their classrooms.

• To create & elevate enabling conditions by rethinking systems, structures, and policies at the local and state level.

• A partnership & alignment of efforts between organizations, including the Governor’s office, Department of Education, State Board, Higher Education, and School and District Administrative Associations.

The Solution:
The RIDE Initiative & Wyoming’s Future of Learning Partnership

Wyoming partnered with 2Revolutions to rethink education at scale. Through the RIDE Initiative, the State Board’s development of a WY  Profile of a Graduate, and the University of Wyoming College of Education's development of a Profile of a WY Educator and aligned learning modules, educators gained the tools and support needed to bring student-centered learning to life.

How We’re Driving Change:
1.  Statewide Learning Series – This series is designed to ensure all educators and invested parties from across the state have access to learning in critical and high priority areas.  These virtual sessions are available to all, model a learner-centered approach, and actively engage participants in a variety of ways including planning for next steps and exploration of high-quality resources to further support student-centered efforts.  All learning needs to be contextually relevant and topics for these sessions aggregated key needs across the state and leveraged both local and national practitioner experts.

As the work across Wyoming occurs at all levels of the system from the classroom to the state house, these sessions were differentiated to meet the needs of participants.

•  Practice Sessions: These sessions engaged educators who are working directly with students and featured high-impact strategies, learning, and ideas that could be applied the next day.  

  •  Systems & Structure Sessions: Focused on the enabling structures and systems for student-centered learning, these sessions are primarily geared towards district and building leadership.  From policy, budgeting, and scheduling, to leveraging AI and designing work-based learning systems, these sessions engaged participants from across the state and country in rethinking the systems and structures that are limiting the creativity of teachers to implement more student-centered learning experiences.  

    2. Communities of Practice(CoP) –  These collaborative focused learning opportunities build momentum around instruction, assessment, or leadership topics leveraging a cohort approach with ongoing coaching support. They exist at all levels of the system in Statewide Transformation and build a supportive community to support learning and implementing a more student-centered approach from classroom practice to state level systems.  

    •  Leader Communities: Supporting district & school leadership.

    • RIDE District Leadership CoP is a collaborative community designed to support district level leadership (Superintendents, Assistant Superintendents, Curriculum Directors, etc) to discuss problems of practice, build connected expertise, and inform the deeper work of the cohort.  

    • WY Educators Advancing Student-Centered Systems is a collaborative Community of Practice to support building-level leadership in navigating the change management process, supporting educators in making deeper shifts to student-centered learning, and elevating innovative solutions to common problems of practice.  

    • Deep District-Based Communities: These CoPs are the true heart of the transformation work and where meaningful shifts in practice inform shifts in systems and structures at both the local and state level.  Implementing teachers and leaders in these district-based CoPs meet monthly to engage in new learning, iterate and implement student-centered shifts, and to reflect, revise, and plan for next steps.  From the specific topical focus with implementing teachers to supporting building leaders in effectively coaching and supporting teachers as they work to shift their practices, this work is supported by Revolutions Coaches through a systemic approach to realize impact on learners.   

      • Personalized Support for Educators – Each district has a dedicated coach who directly supports educators across the district, meeting them where they are and helping them take the next step forward in their practice.  Monthly topic specific teach-ins and weekly office hours support educators through collaboratively  building the knowledge, skills, and mindsets needed to shift to more student-centered practices. The focus is on building upon existing district priorities and educator strengths to redesign an aspect of instruction or assessment identified in partnership with the district.  Educators are empowered to immediately implement ideas in their classrooms and deepen their capacity to support their colleagues. 

3. Celebrations of Learning- Whether these events are local in the district, or statewide, Celebrations of Learning are an opportunity to elevate and celebrate educator and learner voices.  At a local level, Celebrations of Learning offer educators an opportunity to share the story of their learning- both process and product, barriers and opportunities, evidence of impact on self, students, and colleagues.  These powerful authentic stories illustrate that change is possible and invite others to come along and reimagine for themselves what is possible.  On a larger scale, Statewide Celebrations of Learning are an opportunity for educators and invested parties from across the state to not only share their story, but also actionable next steps, ideas, and inspiration with one another.District workshops and celebrations, exhibitions of learning and networking, as well as student voice and participation woven meaningfully through the day showcase that the answer is in the room and the power of coming together in community.  

The Impact: Measurable Results

•  9 → 20+ districts engaged, reaching ~50% of Wyoming students.

•  90% of educators reported making meaningful shifts in their practice.

• Districts are addressing systemic barriers (assessment policies, transcripts, scheduling) to sustain change.

• We are working with coalition partners to identify metrics that are both meaningful and manageable for student impact - particularly student engagement, student agency, and post-secondary success.

 Educator Perspective:

“My favorite part of this experience is dreaming of all the possibilities and opportunities that will come to life.”

— Brittney Montgomery, Sweetwater 2

What We Learned: Takeaways

• Statewide collaboration builds momentum.

• Professional learning is strongest in a community.

• Empowered educators lead lasting transformation.

• Deep engagement and active collaboration across all levels of the system- classroom to State House- is essential.

Building Change Agents: How JCPS is Driving Lasting Change

Jefferson County Public Schools Kentucky

The Challenge:
Why Change Was Needed

Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) was grappling with how to effectively implement a district strategic objective to implement high-quality deeper learning systemwide as an excellence and equity strategy.  The district had developed a Backpack of Success Skills to ensure every student was equipped with essential success skills, honed through real-world applications. This initiative was a shift towards assessments and learning experiences tailored to meet students' unique needs and potentials.

While an effective deeper learning office existed within the district, the ability to provide deep capacity building was limited by time and resources. JCPS was looking for a more comprehensive solution.  Equally important was a need to provide meaningful incentives for educators to participate deeply over time to build their knowledge, skills and leadership. 

The Solution:

In response to these challenges, JCPS (CAO and team, Deeper Learning team) collaborated with 2Revolutions and Spalding University to offer the Certificate in Competency-based Education, with the option to earn an M.Ed. in Teacher Leadership, to over 200 educators across the district. This program was designed to focus on learner-centered practices both in content and delivery, allowing educators to learn about, while learning within, a learner-centered model.  In a district as large as JCPS (~100,000 students), the objective was to build a set of teacher leaders who could spread change within buildings throughout the district.

The Impact: Measurable Results

• Educators from 85 schools have participated in the program, representing 51% of all schools in JCPS

• 98% of those who finished the program agreed or strongly agreed that as a result of the program:

• “I have the knowledge to become a lever of change in my classroom, building, or system”

• “I have the mindset to become a lever of change in my classroom, building, or system”

• “I have the skills to become a lever of change in my classroom, building, or system”

Leader Perspective:

“This program has very much impacted my job. I know that my role as instructional coach gives me the ability to have an impact on other teachers and leaders in my building.”

—High School Instructional Coach in JCPS

“I really felt like my mindset and vision of learning has shifted for the better due to this program. This program has allowed me to create large transformational shifts in practice at my school.”

—High School Instructional Coach in JCPS

 Educator Perspective:

“This program has changed the way I teach. I am not the same teacher I was when I started this program. I have been in traditional programs and those programs had no transforming effects on my craft. The things I learned in this class I am carrying with me beyond the classroom and beyond the time I have spent in the program. Also, my students have been transformed. I have seen test scores grow in ways that I can attribute to information I learned and implemented as a result of this CBE program. My students are enjoying having more say in their learning as well.

—Elementary school teacher in JCPS

What We Learned: Takeaways

• Empowerment and Impact: A professional learning experience that is responsive to the current teaching context empowers educators with practical skills and confidence to make immediate changes in classroom practice- and educators are excited to share the ways that those changes positively impacted student engagement and learning outcomes. 

• Agency in Learning:  Adult learners need to unlearn how to learn in order to learn differently- shifting from a compliance-based approach to learning to one where they are at the center of the process.  By allowing educators to experience a more learner-centered model, they develop greater empathy for what it will take to create learner autonomy within their own classrooms.

• Sustained Inspiration and Leadership Growth: When provided with the opportunity to intentionally develop leadership skills, educators see themselves- and their ability to effect change- differently.  By growing capacity across a broad range of skills, the program can create a critical mass of change agents within a system, allowing the work to spread more naturally from within.  

Empowering Students and Educators Through Student-Driven Assessment

School Administrative Unit 16, New Hampshire

The Challenge:
Why Change Was Needed

School Administrative Unit 16 (SAU 16) was moving toward a new assessment policy to support more student-centered grading practices. A key challenge was ensuring that both elementary and secondary educators were equipped to carry out the new policy with aligned practices so students could engage in student-driven assessments in a way that was developmentally appropriate and meaningful. Educators needed support in shifting their practices, developing new structures, and gaining confidence in facilitating student-driven assessment.

The Solution:

In partnership with 2Revolutions, SAU 16 implemented a phased approach to supporting educators in designing and embedding student-driven assessment practices. The initiative included:

• Community of Practice (CoP): Monthly educator learning sessions focused on formative feedback, portfolio defense, and rubric design.

• Student-Led Conferences (SLCs) & Portfolio Defenses: A structured process where students reflected on their learning, set goals, and presented to families and educators.

• School-Wide Exhibitions of Learning: Students shared their work in exhibition-style formats to reinforce learning ownership.

• Ongoing Coaching and Support: 2Revolutions provided training, resources, and direct coaching to help educators refine their assessment practices; while concurrently supporting the district in developing the draft policy shifts necessary to ensure that the change was sustained and aligned to district-wide policy.

Educators engaged in peer collaboration, examined exemplars, and participated in guided learning experiences to build their capacity. The structured, scaffolded approach helped both elementary and secondary schools navigate the transition.

The Impact: Measurable Results

• Educators rated the experience CoP highly, with an average score of 4.5/5 for overall satisfaction; sharing this was a good use of time and meaningfully impacted their practice.

• Celebrations of Learning are occurring in grades K-8 and student voice and agency is at an all time high in all schools throughout the district. 

• Student-led conferences are happening twice a year in grades K-5 and most parents find them rich and informative. 

• Next year, portfolio celebrations will take place in grades 5, 8 and 12. The focus for grade 5 is “What did you learn in your elementary experience?”, grade 8 is “what is your educational passion?” and grade 12 is “what did our schools do to prepare you for your next steps in life?”

• District assessment policy has moved to enable and promote student-driven assessment.

Student Perspective:

“I now understand how to find good resources that can help me in future presentations. I can use this skill outside the classroom when I want to research something I’m interested in.”

— Middle School Student

 Educator Perspective:

"Students are learning to be reflective in order to own their learning… They beamed with pride when showing their mistakes and best work, learned how to lead a meeting and communicate, and took more ownership in a finished product.”

— Curriculum Coordinator & 2nd Grade Teacher

What We Learned: Takeaways

• Doing this work with an eye on both the conditions at the systems level (in this case, district assessment policy shift) and teacher practice was essential to the overall success of the work.

• Shifting to student-driven assessment requires a mindset change for students, educators, and families. Continued professional development, reflection, and refinement are essential for sustained success.

• The Community of Practice works best when the intervention is concrete, tangible and addresses a felt needs of the teacher in alignment with the district priorities.  All the learning and the direct application supports real progress toward the goal, and the peer-to-peer collaboration strengthens the success of the work.

• Celebrations of Learning are a very useful change management strategy in that teachers publicly reflect directly to their peers on their work, learning, and implementation, including successes and challenges.  This provides a powerful point of entry for others.