Unfazed Or Disengaged? University of Wyoming Teaching Students React To K-12 Cuts

K-12 education in Wyoming is facing immediate cuts on the state level and President Trump’s federal budget proposes cuts to education too. There’s even talk in Washington of dismantling the U.S. Department of Education. This got me wondering how University of Wyoming education students were feeling about their future in teaching.

The question prompted a nice spring stroll across the University of Wyoming’s campus. Our studios are just across Prexy’s Pasture from the College of Education.

Outside elementary schoolers from the Lab School were playing, and inside I found Dr. Leslie Rush, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs in the College of Education and a professor of secondary education. She’s been with the college for 15 years. "When I first came most of our students who graduated could get a job in Wyoming if they wanted, " she said. "But over time as the salaries of classroom teachers have increased we saw the competition for our students being a little bit steeper."

That’s because Wyoming salaries were attracting experienced teachers from out of state. Now there’s uncertainty if districts will be doing any hiring at all. Rush offered a recent teacher career fair as an example: “This year there were not as many Wyoming districts represented as in previous years. Now what that leads me to believe is that there is some lack of certainty in the school districts about whether or not they’ll be able to hire.”

Read more: http://wyomingpublicmedia.org/post/unfazed-or-disengaged-uw-teaching-students-react-k-12-cuts