For years, Park County School District 1 has put an emphasis on preparing students for life beyond secondary education. Heading into a new school year the district is continuing to expand its involvement in a number of programs and initiatives, although leadership is urging caution on some of the statewide changes.

One of the most immediate impacts to students can be seen at Powell High School, where guideline changes to the state’s dual enrollment program are expanding access to freshmen and sophomores.

Following the school recalibration bill that passed in March, $20 million has been set aside for expanding dual enrollment programs and supporting district reimbursements across all K-12 institutions in Wyoming over the next two years. However, an added stipulation was that the dual enrollment courses need to be opened to all high school students, not just the upperclassmen.

Superintendent Jay Curtis expressed concern at the Legislature’s decision to extend the program to lowerclassmen, and said schools need to ensure students are ready for the challenge.

“I hope that we can proceed with a little bit of caution because … the consequences if someone takes a college class they’re not ready for, and fail, they’re starting their college career with an F on their transcripts,” Curtis said.

“We’re excited though, it’s a wonderful opportunity for both us and the college to help our students get college credits under the safety and support of the [high] school.”

At Tuesday night’s school board meeting, the board adjusted their policy to reflect the moratorium of understanding with Northwest College.This included the removal of caps set for students of no more than two dual enrolled classes and one concurrent class per semester. While the dual enrollment classes are conducted by educators and resources provided by NWC, the concurrent classes are facilitated entirely by the high school. The vote was passed unanimously.

Statewide initiatives have also played a massive role in determining career readiness curriculum across the district.

The Reimagining and Innovating the Delivery of Education (RIDE) initiative, established by Gov. Mark Gordon in May 2021, has now been offered districtwide for a year. The goal of the program is to help K-12 schools implement nontraditional educational measures and assess Wyoming’s educational system in order to adopt policy changes that prioritize student success.

One way that this has been seen at PCSD1 is the experience of seventh graders at Powell Middle School. Following the expansion of RIDE’s pilot program in 2024, the students were able to engage in student-led projects that personalized learning and prioritized their choice as students. Cody’s Eastside Elementary School, also under the banner of RIDE, established the Classrooms 2 Careers initiative which is designed to provide student-centered learning and early career exploration.

RIDE’s success has been envisioned through another program launched by the Wyoming State Board of Education, the Profile of a Graduate. The initiative focuses on four areas: Academic progress, career readiness, community engagement and life preparedness.

Another example of the emphasis that the school district has placed on student career readiness can be seen through the Career Technical Education pathway at Powell High School. Through CTE, students are able to get real world experience by working with local businesses and providers like 1st Choice Imaging and Powell Valley Healthcare that let the high schoolers earn certificates and observe various medical settings in order to better develop their own interests.

Curtis said the impact of the programs is leading to changes in graduation standards.

“We’re focusing more on soft skills like teamwork, cooperation and project-based learning versus the old content-based graduation standards,” Curtis said, adding, “We’ve been at work for the past year working towards implementing those standards and asking ‘how are we addressing these things, how do we lean on things that we’re already doing, and then what do we need to add?’”

For students, the opportunities to develop their interests are only growing, whether it’s by earning college credit early or training for the workforce through a hands-on approach.

“I hope that we can continue to forge good relationships with our parents and work with our community to serve the students of our district,” Curtis said. “We want to ensure that every kid learns at a high level and achieves their maximum potential within the school year.”