University of Wyoming College of Education Spring 2018

DONOR
SPOTLIGHT
Passionate About Education
By: Jason Harper
If you ask Diana Clapp, superintendent
at Fremont County School District #6,
what she is passionate about, she will
answer you with one word, education.
She cares about education because
she knows the power it has to change
people’s lives.
“Education in its multiple forms
is foundational to the health of our
democracy,” says Clapp, “Education
can also be a bridge out of generational
poverty.” She has demonstrated this
passion through her unwavering
support of students in her district, at
the UW College of Education and
throughout Wyoming.
Clapp has served on several state
level committees and held positions that
guide education policy and assessment
in Wyoming. She was named Wyoming
Superintendent of the Year in 2011
and received the Myron Basom School
Leadership Award in 2012.
Her education and career have been
tied to the UW College of Education.
Currently a member of the college’s
Advocacy Board, she first became
connected with UW when she pursued
her bachelors in elementary education.
After teaching third grade for a number
of years, an opportunity in her district
lead to her completing her master’s in
educational leadership at UW.
Her career path eventually led her to
her current position as superintendent,
a position she has held for 15 years.
She works to ensure that the 490 P-12
students in her district, that covers over
1,300 square miles and includes the
Pictured left to right: Nicole Tatro, day care
coordinator; Brandy Mickelson, science teacher
at Fremont County School District #6, UW
alumna, and mother of six-month-old Tarak;
and Diana Clapp, superintendent at Fremont
County School District #6. COURTESY PHOTO
Wind River Indian Reservation, have
access to a high-quality education. The
district’s large area and remote location
in addition to the low number of
students often forces her to be creative
when finding solutions to provide her
students and community with the
services they need.
Ten years ago, Clapp and the school
board initiated efforts to establish a
preschool in the district. Since then
they have been able to found preschools
in Pavillion and Crowheart. Through
the hard work of staff, they have
also built an award-winning mobile
preschool, repurposing an out of
service school bus. They have expanded
the services on the bus to include a
registered nurse to provide health
education, immunizations, and to help
bridge the gap between families and the
health services providers in the area.
The district has also recently received
support to open an on-site daycare
to serve both district staff and the
community. A vision to include a schoolbased
medical clinic in the district was
also moved into its final stages and is
anticipated to open later this year.
Fremont County School District
#6 can also boast some major
accomplishments among their Native
American students. Attendance rates
for these students have stayed above
91 percent for three years. The district
has also graduated 100 percent of their
native students three of the last five
years. These numbers are outstanding in
a small district with limited resources
and can be attributed, at least in part,
to the environment Clapp strives to
create in order to promote learning and
success.
She would not have been able to
accomplish all of this without her indepth
knowledge and strong values she
gained while attending UW. She says,
“The university changed the trajectory
of my life and career. It provided me
the education to work in my capacity
as a school superintendent. It helped
me establish a network of resources and
professionals to continue to learn from,
partner with, and enjoy the friendship
and connections with great people in
Wyoming.”
Clapp has some advice to share
with future and current educators.
“Educating is a process, and you will
have a vantage point to make a positive
difference every time you help a student
grow and gain confidence in his/her
own future and every time you engage
in making your students community a
stronger and healthier place to live.”
By: Cody Perry, Sanford Inspire at UW
Coordinator
The University of Wyoming College of Education
recently implemented the Sanford Inspire
Program as a resource for pre-service and current
teachers in the state to improve their abilities.
The program was developed at Arizona State
University through a $28 million grant from T.
Denny Sanford. The program employs a multitier
approach that focuses on connecting research,
development and practice through a consortium
of higher education institutions in alignment
with P-12 school districts.
There are currently 20 universities
participating in the program, and it has impacted
MODULES IMPROVE
ABILITIES OF
the education of more than 175,000 students
nationwide. UW is the most recent collaborative
partner to implement the program. The exciting
new resource will help to improve education
in the state by providing educators with free
resources to extend their knowledge and update
their skills.
Sanford Inspire was designed to create and
disseminate strategies and resources developed
through research and the sharing of evidencebased
teaching. The program consists of over 80
on-demand, online video modules that further
develop an educator’s capabilities.
Sanford Inspire serves as a leading creator
of professional development resources for
pre-service and in-service P-12 teachers. The
program’s online nature is especially beneficial for
teachers in remote rural areas who may not have
access to professional development tools. Current
College of Education pre-service teachers, alumni
and all educators in Wyoming can benefit from
the Sanford Inspire Program at no cost to parents,
teachers, or their local districts.
The modules consist of 30 - 60-minute micro
courses and cover topics such as culturally diverse
learners, differentiated instruction, classroom
management and promoting parent involvement.
Educators complete these modules to help them
become inspirational leaders of dynamic and
stimulating classrooms that welcome diversity.
Faculty at UW are encouraged to utilize
the modules in their courses to help teacher
candidates address areas where they need to
gain exposure to new concepts or improve their
abilities. Students will complete the online
WYOMING’S EDUCATORS
modules at their own pace, allowing them to take
a break or review previous sections.
Each module starts with a lesson that is split
up into chapters. New ideas and background
information are presented through interactive
videos. An assessment of each lesson must be
completed, where five to six questions must be
answered correctly in order to move forward
in the program. Upon the conclusion of each
module, the educators will receive a certificate
of completion and gain access to additional
resources that they can take into the classroom to
further their learning.
The Sanford Inspire Program will help
students across the state to realize their full
potential, regardless of background, race or
financial standing by providing their educators
with tools to ensure their techniques are novel
and follow current best practices.
College of Education
graduate students gain
insight through
Sanford Inspire videos.
For more
information
concerning the
Sanford Inspire
Program visit
uwyo.edu/
education/
Sanford-inspire.
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