New Curriculum for Laura Irwin Elementary

Curriculum for the youngest of Basin’s students was the focus of discussion at the Big Horn County School District No. 4 board of trustees meeting on Monday, June 9. A presentation by Laura Irwin Elementary School’s principal Katie Seeley consumed a large portion of the meeting. Through a fantastic visual presentation, Seeley detailed her recommendation for ‘Magnetic Literacy’ as the new curriculum for LIE. 

Citing a performance gap, stagnation of test scores and a new state mandate, Seeley asked the board to formally adopt Magnetic Literacy as the district’s new curriculum for kindergarten through fifth grade students. 

In her presentation, Seeley said, “To ensure all students succeed, LIE must adopt a unified, evidence-based core curriculum. This critical transition is essential to replace unvetted, supplemental materials with research-backed strategies that directly target and elevate our equity student populations.”

FastBridge screening data from 2018 – 2026 showed no significant improvement in literacy for LIE students, leading school officials to recognize that the current foundational instruction is insufficient to support students scoring below expectations on WY-TOPP tests. The case for change was also motivated by the new literacy bill requiring alignment with ‘Science of Reading’ mandates by July of this year. 

Seeley went on to tell the board it was through a rigorous, teacher-led selection process where eight programs were evaluated – along with classroom piloting this past school year – that revealed an overwhelming staff consensus for Magnetic Literacy. 

Fourth-grade teacher Kathleen Zierolf told the board the materials are eye-catching and colorful and that her students responded well during piloting. Second-grade teacher Jalynn McClure joined Zierolf in supporting the proposed curriculum. 

According to the developer, Magnetic Literacy is a program designed to develop proficient readers, writers, and communicators through a coherent, integrated system. It will reduce “re-teaching,” according to Seeley, and “maximize instruction and learning time.”

Seeley told the board the curriculum includes core student materials, classroom libraries, teacher toolkits and digital infrastructure. She noted that this is not a screen-based program and the Magnetic Literacy staff will come in person with ‘boots on the ground’ to help with guided training. 

LIE’s current curriculum, Fountas and Pinnell, has been used for the last seven years. Seeley and business manager Trevor Whitaker then discussed cost with the board and presented options. Initial figures indicate the cost to the district would be an estimated $35,000 up front and then a yearly cost of a projected $10,000 thereafter depending on developer packages. 

Later in the meeting and after its executive session, the board returned and voted to approve the purchase of Magnetic Literacy as the district’s new LIE curriculum. In alignment with the district’s commitment to transparency, physical examples of classroom materials will be on display in the district office (located behind TCT) for anyone who is interested in seeing them first-hand.

OTHER NEWS

Whitaker talked with the board about rule changes regarding handling money and asked for a special meeting to discuss further after he receives additional information. 

The concession stand project at the football/track field is now complete. 

Matt Jensen told the board that summer school is going well, and Greg Gloy gave a report about the BOCES programs in Thermopolis. 

Superintendent Keith Campbell gave high praise for how well the end of the school year went for the district. “We had a great end of the year, graduation was well done, the best one,” he said. “We have a lot of good people who are highly organized and things went so smoothly.” 

An information day will be scheduled in August to provide details regarding the new upcoming school week plan with the move to a four-day school week. Letters will be sent home to families when a date is chosen. 

The meeting was wrapped up with a handful of updates to board policies. Changes can be viewed on the district’s website: www.bgh4.org

At last Monday’s meeting the trustees discussed and voted to approve changes to policies including student use of electronic devices, attendance policy, the exhibit to consent to withdrawal form, compulsory attendance ages, and graduation requirements. 

NEW HIRES

The district has hired Anthony Montanez as the middle school special education teacher and Suzanne Casad as the preschool teacher. A handful of current employees added additional responsibilities for next schoolyear, those include Chad Lindsay - Canvas Coordinator, Nikki Hopkin - Rising Rebel Coordinator, Dusty Ellis - Rising Rebel Coordinator and Eron Lampman - Play Advisor.