SCSD#1 Board Hears TRHS Presentation

In March, Tongue River High School was honored as a PLC Model School. At the April 11 SCSD#1 Board of Trustees meeting TRHS Principal Colby Lynch gave a slide presentation showing the behind-the-scenes work that went into earning the award.

The red in the slide shows the times TRHS was below the average, with green being above the average. He also added that they are in a friendly competition with Big Horn, and the fact that BHHS out- performed TRHS in 2022. In 2022 Lynch said,

He was joined by three members of his leadership team. Andee Marcure, English; Jet Warr, math; Tyler Hanson, Spanish and Lily Krumm, student at TRHS.

Lynch then turned the presentation over to Marcure who talked about collaboration and the growth her English students had achieved over the past year, and she presented a slide showing the comparison.

After Marcure, Warr talked about the three tiers of teaching, starting with tier one, which is universal classroom instruction; tier two, small group instruction and tier one is individual instruction for students that respond best to one-on-one learning.

Spanish teacher Hanson spoke to the board about ways the enrich the students who are proficient in learning, and some of the extra classes they can take at THRS offering enrichment. Some classes such as First Aid/CPR and Fire Science are certificate classes, and students can earn certification after the class has been completed. Other classes include fly tying, creative writing, chess and guitar.

Lily Krumm talked about Point B, the various avenues for students after they graduate from high school.

After the presentation, there were two visitors who spoke to the board, John Bridges talked about parental rights, and the fact that the Sheridan Republican Party presented a resolution at the legislature, to implement a policy on parental rights, which died in the Wyoming House.

Bridges presented the board with a petition from the Sheridan County Republican Party about the issue. He said that some of the arguments against the policy were that it isn’t happening here, and that it limits teachers and may make them afraid to teach what they want to teach.

Shawn Kelley was another guest, and he spoke about wanting a girls’ softball team at Tongue River School. He said there were many girls who wanted the team and felt it should be implemented at SCSD#1. He spoke about some of the benefits to the students, such as possible scholarships as well as another way to compete with other schools.

Jeff Jones reported to the board that there would be interviews for a new TRMS principal on Friday, and there there was input from parents, administrators and students on the candidates.

Al Sparkman, BHHS principal, presented the board members with T-Shirts celebrating BHHS academic achievements. “I wish you would wear them and wear them proudly,” he said. He added about BHHS academics.

The meeting ended with a presentation by Kendra Barney, who talked about the early education program in SCSD#1, and how it has grown since 2020. She talked about the Ram Readers program, where young readers receive a book per month, and they have given out 1260 books this school year.

Chad Baker gave a report from the Tongue River Rec District, and said they approved two funding requests, one for the TRMS Robotics class to go to Houston, Texas and one for Big Horn Middle School Academic Challenge competition.