44 District 1 students don’t return to classrooms this year

Forty-four students who have attended Sheridan County School District 1 schools in the past are staying home this year because of COVID-19.

In a report to District 1 trustees this week, School Superintendent Pete Kilbride said 11 of the students are now being home-schooled. The other 33, he said, are attending school online.

Kilbride said the students learning online use a program called Acellus, which is the same program the district uses in its Cowboy State Virtual Academy. He said the lessons are pre-recorded and are monitored by the district’s teachers.

The district’s teachers can also supplement the online program.

Kilbride said Acellus is based on common core, and all of the courses have been certified by the Wyoming Department of Education. He said the program allows the student to work at his or her own pace, and that’s part of what the district’s teachers monitor.

If a student is falling behind, Kilbride said, the teacher can intervene to help the student, while a student who wants to work ahead can look to the teacher for enrichment opportunities.