Education professionals present field research

The presentations in the Student Center covered a wide array of topics and challenges facing educational systems. Following is a synopsis of each presentation.

Brent Bacon, Pine Bluffs, Wyo., “Afterschool Program Effectiveness in Rural Community” – Bacon, who serves as director of special services at Laramie County School District No. 1 in southeast Wyoming, examined the effectiveness of an afterschool program titled Academy of Learning Extension at his school. The Dibels Oral Reading Fluency scores and the AIMsweb data management tool were used to gather data from students who attended the afterschool program and students who did not attend the afterschool program. The results indicated that the program was effective in improving the reading scores for the students involved in the Academy of Learning Extension program.

Kathleen Engle, Newcastle, Wyo., “Becoming a Professional Learning Community, A Rural Experience” -- Prompted by the No Child Left Behind law, Engle looked for essential factors needed in implementing an effective professional learning community, including the process of becoming a community, and the effects of implementation of the community on the teachers and on student learning. Engle is a physical education teacher at Newcastle.

George Schlothauer, Gering, Neb., “Improving Reading Scores with Direct Instruction in Gering Public Schools” – Schlothauer, Lincoln Elementary School principal,  examined the teacher perception and effects of a Direct Instruction program on the reading within the Gering Public Schools.

John Weigel, Douglas, Wyo., “Cell Phone Use and Abuse: Creating a Balanced Policy for Wyoming’s Schools” – Weigel, curriculum director at Douglas, examined a follow-up survey of a national study that was conducted to determine if school policies and procedures regarding cell phone use by teachers and students were keeping up with the ever-changing technology within cell phones.

Lisa Weigel, Douglas, Wyo., “Response to Intervention: Implementation of a School-Wide System” -- The current national trend in today’s schools is to meet the needs of struggling and at-risk learners through the implementation of a multi-tiered response to intervention models. Weigel, who serves as director of special education and student support services at Douglas, sought to better understand the national and state perspective of response to intervention by investigating the level of emphasis of current state-wide efforts for implementing RTI in Wyoming Schools from the perspectives of special education directors throughout Wyoming. She also serves as principal of the district’s rural schools.