A Message from the Albany County Superintendent on the First Day of School

Today is the first day of school for Albany County School District One. Last year was a pretty good year with Laramie High School being ranked first in the state by U.S. News & World Report and Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Brian Recht, is hopeful for another great school year. Check out his message on the new school year to parents, students, faculty, staff and the community.

Welcome to a new school year! Thank you for being a vital part of the Albany County School District One family. We each have the opportunity to make a positive difference in the lives of children and families every day - the choice is ours. Think back to your own school days. I am sure that you remember those folks who had a memorable positive effect on you, whether it was through meaningful teaching and learning experiences, a moment of caring and kindness, or that person's belief that you could be successful. Let us commit to being that positive influence on others in the upcoming school year.

We are swiftly moving forward to build a new state-of-the-art Laramie High School in our community. The land has been selected for the new building, an award winning architectural firm with experience building schools statewide, nationally, and globally has been retained, and we are now beginning the design phase. Our goal is a year for design, and then approximately a year-and-a-half to build. This is an aggressive schedule, but we want to move forward as quickly as possible, as we have seen in the past that waiting does not necessarily benefit our district's position with state priority rankings in the building of new schools. With the land and design monies in hand from the state (about 5 million dollars), the next hurdle will be acquiring the monies from the state for the construction phase of the project. Unfortunately, at this point, it is not assured. By statute, the new Laramie High School project is to be considered first should any school construction dollars be allocated from the state in the next Legislative Session. Our local Legislators will need to be strong and firm advocates for our school district and our community, as other political interests and projects begin to jockey for funding support. As the second largest employer in the City of Laramie, a 60 million dollar project infused into the Laramie economy will greatly benefit our community, our families, and our children. The need for a new Laramie High School has been determined, and we are ready.

Academically, our district continues to make strong gains as measured by state indicators. The percentage of Albany County students scoring at the advanced or proficient level on the Proficiency Assessment for Wyoming Students (PAWS) is above the percentage of students scoring advanced or proficient at the state level, at every grade and in every content area. This is not an accident. It is the result of hardworking, dedicated educators, willing to focus on and target the skills that are needed so that all children will learn, develop, and grow.

In Albany County We Aim Higher!

• Improving performance in all content areas
• Strong, engaged, teaching at every grade level
• A new state-of-the-art high school facility for the community
• Everyone working together to improve and change the face of education

It’s going to be a great school year!

 

Dr. Brian Recht
Superintendent of Schools
Albany County School District One