New science

Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
 
The Wyoming Board of Education recently approved the state’s first computer science standards, with modifications from the Wyoming Department of Education, according to Sonya Tysdal. 
Tysdal, who is the curriculum director for Weston County School District No. 1, told the board of trustees that the standards are waiting for approval from Gov. Mark Gordon. 
The standards were developed and then revised by a standards review committee composed of 40 members, which included educators, professors, parents, content experts and business and community members, according to a May 13 Department of Education press release. These standards were made necessary with the passage of Senate Enrolled Act 0048 in 2018, adding computer science and knowledge and skills for Wyoming students kindergarten through 12th grade, the release says. 
“The bill requires the promulgation of uniform contest and performance standards for computer science by January 1, 2022, then going into effect beginning with the 2022-23 school year,” the release says.
“That means that the governor still has to sign the standards before they are officially law,” Tysdal said in an email. “There are some potential issues from the Attorney General’s standpoint, so we are waiting to see what the final standard document will look like.”
Tysdal expanded on the uniqueness of the situation in her report to the school board, stating that new standards usually come with the actual standards content and performance level descriptors. 
“Those two things go hand in hand, and the state board took out the performance level descriptors,” Tysdal said. “What the governor does with that may be a little different. I don’t know what that does to the process, but we will have new computer science standards to implement in the coming years.” 
Despite the state implementation deadline of 2022-23, Tysdal said, the school district has been proactive and has started the implementation process. Teachers within the district, she said, have already begun attending trainings on the implementation.
“Basically, we will have time to figure out how we want to implement the standards,” Tysdal said. “We are doing well and have a good leg up on implementing, more than most districts in the state, so that is good news.” 
Tysdal told the News Letter Journal that the bulk of the work will take place after the standards are officially signed into law. She said that implementing new standards comes with its own set of challenges and concerns. 
“Funding, time and prioritization are always a challenge and concern,” Tysdal said. “At this point, there is no additional funding provided to implement these standards.” 
According to a press release dated Oct. 9 from the Department of Education, the department is one of nine entities across the country that will be awarded federal grant money for career and technical education. The department will receive $489,714 over the next three years to strengthen computer science education across the state, according to the release.
“The department will use the Innovation and Modernization Grant … to implement its Boot Up Wyoming initiative to bring Computer Science and computational thinking to every Wyoming classroom by 2022,” the release says. “To do that, the WDE will create Computer Science micro-credentials for teachers to improve instruction in the field. Additionally,
the WDE will revise the
micro-credentials to create a way for students to earn both high school credit and industry certification.”
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow said that this money boosts the state’s ability to ensure that Wyoming graduates are ready for several avenues. 
“Computer Science education is relevant and imperative for every student,” Balow said in the release. “Wyoming is at the forefront of making sure the next generation is well-prepared for jobs that are ever-changing because
of technology, and for the jobs that don’t yet exist — but
they will.”