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Welcome to Fremont #1

We will be a learning community where all members are respected and
every individual is challenged to achieve excellence.

Fremont #1 is located in Lander, Wyoming, and is fully accredited by
the Wyoming Dept of Education and AdvancED.  We have about
1,740 students enrolled.  You can learn a lot more about our district
from the links on the menus above!

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Meet Our Teachers!

You'll find links on the "Schools and Teachers" menu for all our schools.

Most of our teachers publish class websites where they post information,
upcoming assignments, and projects.  You can also find special resources
like the Lander MS "Homework Hotline" and the LVHS Guidance Office website.

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Fremont #1 on Facebook

You can find photos, announcements, sports scores, and much more
on our district's profile page.

Click here to visit us on Facebook!

District Informationicon info_64x64

Read our Strategic Plan (PDF)
Calendars for 2012-2013 and 2013-2014
District Policies 

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Wyoming Road and Travel
Lander Weather (NOAA)
     

(Lander) – On Monday, May 14, $3.5 million in bonds which had been levied in 2001 to support construction of Lander Valley High School were “refunded”, which is equivalent to refinancing.  It had been anticipated that taxpayers would realize a savings of around $500,000 through this process; however, Mary Keating-Scott of George K. Baum and Company, who coordinated the transaction for Fremont County School District #1, said that the bonds were sold at 1.24%, which is an historic low, thus saving $618,000.  The bonds will be able to be paid off by 2021, which is a year early.  In addition, the 2020 payment will be reduced.  Purchasers of the bonds included Wyoming banks, Wyoming retail/trust departments, and a national bank.  The bonds are rated AAA by Standard & Poor’s, which is the highest rating possible.

Clipboard01Monte Else, Lander Valley High School math teacher, introduced several members of the LVHS math team.  He informed the Board of Trustees that results which had just been released showed that the LVHS team won not only the state 3A math championship, but the team was the overall winner in the state competition, beating all of the 4A teams, also.  In the 3A competition, LVHS took the top three places, and it took places 3, 4, and 5 in the overall competition.  Evan Fossen was the 3A champion, followed by Ali Ragan and Steven Wilcox, and they were third through fifth in the overall competition.  In the Fremont County contest, in which Jackson also participated, the LVHS team took eight of the top ten places, including the top five, with Fossen, Ragan, and Wilcox again taking the top three places.

After working since January on the Strategic Plan that will provide direction for Fremont County School #1 from July 2012 through June 2015, the Board of Trustees adopted the document.  The five goals in the Plan include:  (1) Meet the academic needs of each student, (2) provide a safe, healthy, and orderly school environment and improve student behavior, (3) provide for effective and efficient District operations, (4) improve parent engagement, and (5) improve student engagement.  Superintendent of Schools, Mike Bowman, told the Board that plans will be developed to accomplish the goals and that the goals will be provided to employees and discussed with them.  The administration will report on progress toward goal accomplishment annually.

The Board approved salary and benefit changes for 2012-13 after discussions with employee groups during April.  Employees will be allowed vertical movement on the salary schedule, and horizontal movement on the salary schedule will be allowed for certified employees who earn enough college credit.  The Board also approved providing certified employees who have reached the last step in their salary column to receive an additional $800 for the 2012-13 school year.  Because the legislature has not provided the District with a cost-of-living increase in three years, the base salaries will remain unchanged.  The Board also approved a schedule for compensation for such functions as summer school teaching and participating in staff development that was developed to ensure consistency in compensation across the District.

To provide consistency in grading scales across the District, the Board approved changes requested by the elementary schools and Lander Middle School which will allow teachers in those schools to use the 90-100 = A, 80-89 = B, etc., scale which is the scale used at Lander Valley High School and Pathfinder High School. 

Other highlights of the Board meeting included:

·         Approved the Recreation Board member appointments and Recreation Board projects and budget.  The Recreation Board projects are funded by one-mill which is levied by the Board of Education.

·         Received preliminary budget information for 2012-13 from Kirk Schmidt, Assistant Superintendent for Business Services.  It is anticipated that the District general fund revenues will be $26,713,000.  With the exception of the “run out” cost for the current health insurance program, it is anticipated that the budget will be balanced.

·         The Board recognized Arch Coal Award Winner, Jenny Simpson, who teaches kindergarten at North.

·         Dr. Lisa Hafer, principal of Lander Valley High School, introduced Derek Peil, as the LVHS Student of the Year.  In addition to being student body president, he was involved in three sports, did a great deal of volunteer work, and maintained a 4.0 GPA.

·         Dr. Hafer also recognized Ryan Buckmeier, James Olson, and Dylan Bergstedt who graduated from CWC with associate’s degrees last week and will graduate from LVHS Sunday.  Derek Peil will complete his associate’s degree this summer.

·         Hillary Herron, LVHS English teacher, provided information to the Board about how the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in language arts will be implemented at LVHS over the next three years.  She also discussed how other teachers in other curricular areas, such as social studies, vocational, etc., will be responsible for implementing language arts standards in their courses.

 

Click here for a PDF of this press release: PressRelease_2012-05-15

Attachments:
Download this file (PressRelease_2012-05-15.pdf)PressRelease_2012-05-15.pdf[ ]301 Kb

The 2012-2015 Strategic Plan was approved at the May 15th School Board meeting.

The Plan includes the following goals: 

  • Meet the academic needs of each student
  • Provide a safe, healthy, and orderly school environment and improve student behavior
  • Provide for effective and efficient District operations
  • Improve parent engagement
  • Improve student engagement

You can view the Strategic Plan here as a PDF attachment:

Attachments:
Download this file (StrategicPlan_2012.pdf)StrategicPlan_2012.pdf[ ]175 Kb

(A PDF with the Interest Form is available as an attachment at the bottom of this article)

The District has surplus computers and monitors that we are offering to District parents and students. These machines were used for several years at Gannett Peak Elementary. Although they are older computers, they can still serve as adequate home machines for Internet access, email, educational software and websites, and basic productivity. We are offering to prepare these computers to be given to students and families of students for home use. This is not a loan – families will own the equipment and can use it as they see fit.

Computer Details
This program will offer Lenovo tower PC computers. Each computer will have a 14” or 15” flat-screen monitor (various brands), a keyboard, a mouse, and two power cables. The computers are either Lenovo model 9637 or model 9851 towers. Each has an Intel Core Duo processor, 1.5gig RAM, 80gig storage, and DVD player. Computers have wired network capability so they can be connected to existing Internet connectivity in your home (cable, DSL, etc).

Any additional hardware or software needs, as well as any Internet connectivity, are solely the responsibility of the household.

An instruction sheet will be provided that demonstrates how to connect your computer and describes some of the basics of the software that’s installed on it. Beyond that instruction sheet, the District will not provide any maintenance, support, configuration, or troubleshooting on any hardware received. No warranty is provided by the manufacturer.

Computers will be delivered with Ubuntu Linux installed and ready to use. Ubuntu is a modern OS (operating system) that is freely available to anyone, is very powerful, and is secure. With Ubuntu, you can use either the Firefox or Chrome web browsers to access Internet websites, check email, and follow your student’s progress. Ubuntu also offers an App Store where you can add free educational software, games, and other software with a single click.

I’m interested. What do I need to do?
You can obtain an interest form at www.landerschools.org, or from the main office at any District school. One is attached to the bottom of the back page of this document. A $5.00 processing fee for each computer is required. The interest form and the $5.00 fee are to be submitted to the District Technology Office at 400 Baldwin Creek Road.

You will be contacted via email in early June with a pickup date. Machines will be available for pickup through the end of June. Pickup location will be at Gannett Peak Elementary and hours will depend on summer work (details to be outlined in the email).

Computers are subject to availability and requests will be processed on a first-come first-served basis (in the order they were turned in). If for any reason your request cannot be filled, your $5.00 will be returned to you. A family may request up to two computers as part of this program.

Questions

Are these computers any good?
For the District, these computers and monitors are at the end of their useful life. However, for some uses they may still function adequately for several years. In situations such as general Internet access, checking email, running educational software, basic photo editing, and doing basic productivity work, these computers are still useful. For more advanced needs, such as gaming and graphics work, you may consider purchasing a more modern computer from a vendor.

Why Ubuntu Linux instead of Windows?
Ubuntu is a more modern and more secure OS alternative than Windows XP, which is now eleven years old whose support and updates from Microsoft are ending next year. In this age of “the cloud” and Internet-based software like Facebook, Instagram, and Google Mail, the actual client you use is not as important as the web browser you use. Ubuntu includes Mozilla Firefox, one of the “top three” premiere browsers, and you can choose to install Google Chrome as well. Also, Ubuntu is consistently faster than Windows XP on the same hardware to start and operate.

Will I have difficulty learning Ubuntu?
Websites and applications like Facebook and Google operate exactly the same on Ubuntu or Windows, as they run in a web browser and not on your computer. Ubuntu is specifically designed for ease-of-use and low maintenance. You can get an online demonstration of Ubuntu’s look and feel by visiting www.ubuntu.com/tour.

Can I get Windows installed instead?
Although each computer has a Windows XP license sticker on it, the District cannot install Windows or any other commercial software. What you choose to do with your computer after you take possession of it is up to you.

What about Microsoft Office, or Office-like software?
Ubuntu provides LibreOffice, which is a free productivity software package that lets you open and edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents. Also, District students in grades 6-12 can also use Office Web Apps, part of their student email account, to edit Word and Excel documents within Firefox or Chrome. Documents can then be easily retrieved from a school computer.

Is there any kind of a warranty?
There is no warranty or support at all from the District. No warranty is provided by the manufacturer. The District cannot and will not provide any maintenance, support, configuration, or troubleshooting on any hardware received. Also, when the machine is at the end of its useful life, disposal is solely the responsibility of the owner.

Attachments:
Download this file (Fremont1ExcessTechDisbursal.pdf)Fremont1ExcessTechDisbursal.pdf[ ]330 Kb

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