Welcome to the UW College of Education!

Kay Persichtte Sadly, this WELCOME letter is being written as we begin the sixth week of classes this fall…but that gives some sense of how full the lives of students, faculty, staff, and administration in the College of Education really are these days! This is the text of an introduction letter that I wrote for the fall edition of the College of Education Blackboard…I hope you find yourself welcomed within this text and I hope that you, too, are skating hard!

      Wayne Gretzky attributed much of his success as a professional hockey player to this philosophy: “Skate to where the puck is going…not to where it has been.” Gretzky was able to raise the level of his own play and that of his teams with determined focus on this philosophy. Today the context for the preparation of teachers and other school personnel challenges our ability to deduce where the puck of federal and state policy will go next. Accountability remains one constant at the same time that the measurement tools, expectations, and reporting requirements oscillate. The recent release of the Wyoming Education Summary from the Wyoming Department of Education reminds us that: a) Wyoming is not unique in the critical need to implement effective strategies to improve the learning outcomes and the high school graduation rates of the students in our PK-12 schools; b) support for P-16 education in Wyoming is significant and our publics expect us to demonstrate improved results on learning assessments; c) students from poverty and non-majority cultural backgrounds clearly have needs that are not being met; and d) improvements to this complex system (public education) will require the joint and continuous efforts of local school boards, communities and parents, district administrators, the WDE, legislators and policy makers, Wyoming Community Colleges, the University of Wyoming, and the UW College of Education.

      Research studies over several decades indicate that the SINGLE GREATEST CONTRIBUTOR to learning is THE TEACHER. We continue to review and revise our preservice teacher preparation programs (20 in all) knowing that the classrooms in which these novice teachers will work have never had greater critical needs for effective teaching or higher expectations for learning outcomes. We recognize the strong relationship between effective leadership and high performing schools which influences our graduate programs that prepare principals, superintendants, school counselors, and advanced professionals in special education, curriculum and instruction, literacy education, early childhood education, science education, mathematics education, English as a Second Language, teachers of American Indian children, adult learning, and instructional technology. Graduates of all College of Education programs must be ready to assure learning for all students with professional pedagogical skills and strong content area knowledge, develop and maintain effective and safe learning environments, and emphasize the importance of education at all levels. We come to this work invigorated by the potential for our graduates to catalyze change and to positively impact thousands of lives. We must trust each other and our many external partners to help us reach our goals. We value teamwork because we are enriched when multiple perspectives and ideas are shared, even when they differ from our own. We strive to model integrity in all aspects of our work as a foundation of our individual and collective professional expectations.

      In this Blackboard you will find many examples of student and faculty activities and accomplishments. You will also read about alumni and awards and new initiatives. We have a vibrant faculty and a quality student body…making every effort to skate to where the puck is going. I hope you enjoy this issue and I invite you to join us on the ice!

Kay Persichitte

Welcome to the UW College of Education!

Quick Links