Strenger voices support for school district

Jacob Strenger identified himself as not just a sixth-grade teacher, but also as one of many parents in the Hot Springs County School District who “wouldn’t send my kids to any other school district in this nation,” as he was accompanied by a number of such parents, and their children, in addressing the Hot Springs County School District on April 18.

Strenger said of his kids, “I know they’re getting a good education,” and cited not only the vocabulary exercises his daughter dutifully leads him through as part of her own homework, but also his son’s Saturday morning trips to the school library, when “he’ll call me and ask if he can stay longer.”

Strenger created the district’s schools and teachers with fostering “a genuine love and joy for learning” in his children, and others.

And “as a teacher, I’ve seen tremendous growth in this district, in each and every one of our schools,” as opposed when he started at the district 10 years ago, about which Strenger said, “You didn’t have a whole lot to celebrate,” and “I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into.”

According to Strenger, “hardly” 48% of fifth-grade students were proficient in mathematics a decade ago, which was only 38% for the seventh grade and 44% for eighth grade, while “language arts wasn’t a whole lot different,” with fewer than 60% of students, across most middle school grades, demonstrating proficiency in that subject.

Today, Strenger estimated nearly 75-80% of students, “if not more, are proficient or advanced across the board,” as he touted the district’s achievements in mathematics as particularly impressive, with “more students in mathematics scoring advanced then the state has scoring proficient and advanced combined.”

Strenger asserted that the district’s teachers “are pushing their students, our kids, to be the best they can be, and as a result, they’re some of the top-performing students in the state of Wyoming,” for which he shared credit with the “strong leadership” of the district’s administration, whom he lauded for their “fabulous job of giving us the tools and resources we need to be good teachers, and providing an environment that’s inviting and productive for our students.”

Strenger recalled how, several years ago, the district had stated its commitment to becoming a professional learning community, and while “it wasn’t successful right away,” he nonetheless commended the district, because “you stuck with it (...) you read the literature, you go to the conferences,” and “that’s made you strong leaders, not only in our district and our county, but across the state.”

Strenger touted how, a few weeks before, the district had hosted nearly 30% of school board members and administrators from throughout the state.

“They came here to learn, not only from the people you brought to collaborate with them, but from you,” Strenger said. “They came here to learn from what we’re doing here. Your leadership and commitment, to all of our kids, has opened doors that students didn’t have 10 years ago.”

Even as Strenger declared, “We have a lot to celebrate, and a lot to be proud of,” he also acknowledged, “We’re not done yet. We have a lot of work to do, and (as both) teachers and parents we’re not going to let negativity and hateful rhetoric get in the way of the job we have to do.”

Strenger concluded, “We want you to know, we support you fully in the decisions you make. They’re not easy decisions, but we appreciate you, and we respect the work you do.”