January is School Board Appreciation Month. Thank you LCSD1 Board of Trustees for your leadership, service and commitment to our students, families, staff and community!

School Resource Officer (SRO) Sgt. Rob Peete was honored for four years of service to the SRO Program at the Jan. 12 Board of Trustees meeting. Thank you for protecting our students!

LCSD1 Safety and Security Program Administrator Todd Deporter presented Peete with a certificate of accomplishment and highlighted the important role SROs play in the lives of students.

Sara Vialpando, an activity driver for the Laramie County School District 1 Transportation Department, has been selected as the LCSD1 Board Employee Spotlight for the month of January. She will be recognized on Monday, Jan. 26 at 6 p.m. in the Storey Gym Boardroom, 2811 House Ave.

Vialpando has been a LCSD1 employee since August 2019 and is known by coworkers and supervisors for going above and beyond. In addition to being an activity driver, she is a member of the snow crew and cold start crew, helping ensure buses and facilities are safe and operational during winter conditions. She also assists with groundskeeping duties throughout the year, including mowing and maintenance during the summer months. 

Coworkers describe Vialpando as someone they can count on to help find solutions, look out for others during icy conditions, and step in wherever help is needed.

LCSD1 Superintendent Dr. Stephen Newton made a surprise visit to Sunrise Elementary to help congratulate staff for earning their Level 2 certification in Marzano High Reliability Schools.

In addition, Principal Jamie Soper and some of her staff traveled to the awards ceremony in San Antonio and got to meet Robert Marzano!

Congratulations, Sunrise Elementary!

Arp Elementary school is the most recent addition to the Wyoming Purple Star Program’s recognized schools. 

The Wyoming Purple Star Program recognizes the efforts of kindergarten through 12th grade schools that are committed to and supportive of military students and their families as they transition to their new homes and schools.

Arp Elementary joins South High, Central High, East High, McCormick Junior High, Freedom Elementary, Anderson Elementary and Jessup Elementary as Purple Star schools. Laramie County School District 1 schools make up eight of the nine Purple Star schools in Wyoming.

Nearly every student at Triumph High participated in a community service project benefiting the COMEA Shelter. These students dedicated their time to help fold, stuff and address envelopes for the shelter's quarterly newsletter, which was a huge help to the COMEA staff. Thank you, for helping to strengthen our community in such an impactful way!

Central High Principal Dr. Karen Delbridge has been named Wyoming Secondary Principal of the Year by the Wyoming Association of Secondary School Principals (WASSP).

WASSP Executive Director Jeff Makelky said the selection was made due to Delbridge’s leadership and commitment to fostering a positive, unified school culture.

“Under her guidance, Central High School’s ‘One Tribe’ initiative has strengthened connections among students and staff, creating a supportive environment where students and staff feel valued,” Makelky said.

Delbridge explained following the COVID-19 pandemic, her objective was to regroup and develop a school culture where students and staff could cultivate a sense of belonging. She also wanted the school to give back to the community. First, she said, they needed to define themselves.

“ ‘One Tribe’ has helped provide our community with those deep seeded connections,” Delbridge said. “Central’s student leadership sets an outstanding example of this.”

Makelky added, “Principal Delbridge has also led significant efforts to elevate academic achievement, reflected in Central High School’s continued growth on the Wyoming Department of Education’s School Performance Report.”

Delbridge said, “If we expect kids to learn and grow, we as adults have to model that.”

Last school year, Delbridge said she joined the students’ freshmen orchestra group so she could learn to play the violin. Her goal was to play in two performances, which she did last fall and winter. 

“It’s important to be a part of what the kids are involved with,” she said. “I love our kids. They’re so smart, thoughtful, funny and insightful. It’s just the best that I get to hang out with them all day.”

Delbridge has been head principal at Central since 2022. Prior to that, she was associate principal. Additionally, she served as a Laramie County School District 1 instructional facilitator and the district’s K-12 English language arts curriculum coordinator. She was also a teacher at Johnson Junior High and East High.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in English with a secondary teacher certification and minor in religion from Lee University, Cleveland, Tennessee; a master’s degree in K-12 education from Tusculum College, Greenville, Tennessee; and a doctorate in education and curriculum and instruction from the University of Wyoming, where she also received a K-12 reading endorsement and K-12 principal endorsement.

In April, Delbridge will join fellow state principal nominees in Washington, D.C., where the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) will announce the NASSP High School National Principal of the Year.

Pioneer Park Elementary sixth graders took a trip to the Capitol building to present a mock trial of the Charles Lindbergh case from the 1930s.

Dildine Elementary kindergarteners recently finished reading "The Little Red Hen," and to wrap things up they learned how to make bread! The students measured the ingredients and mixed and kneaded the dough—yum!

Carey Junior High eighth graders took a trip to the district's mobile planetarium as part of their astronomy unit. They got to see stars and learn about constellations.

First graders at Goins Elementary have been learning about maps in social studies. They created a map of Ginger Town, practiced giving directions to one another, calculated distances and learned how to make gingerbread cookies with a little help from some sixth graders!

East High's computer science class began their Capstone Tour! This tour consists of juniors and seniors visiting East Triad schools throughout the year to showcase various projects and technology used in the classrooms. The goal of this experience is to help get younger students excited about computer science and coding!

So far, the students have visited Henderson and Anderson. We can't wait to see where the tour takes them next!

LCSD1 CLAS students toured Cheyenne Regional Medical Center to learn about different medical careers!

The Laramie County School District 1 science fair will be held on Saturday, Jan. 24 at Storey Gym, 2811 House Ave. 

Public viewing will be from 11 a.m.–noon and the award ceremony will start shortly thereafter. 

As the potential for inclement winter weather approaches, Laramie County School District 1 would like the community to be aware of the district’s procedures for handling challenging conditions.

LCSD1 monitors weather in coordination with Emergency Management Services (EMS) and the National Weather Service (NWS). As inclement weather approaches southeast Wyoming, EMS notifies and coordinates with multiple departments to prepare for conditions that may arise.

Along with LCSD1 and NWS, these agencies include Laramie County, Laramie County Public Works, Laramie County Sheriff’s Office, Cheyenne-Laramie County Public Health, LCSD2, City of Cheyenne, State of Wyoming, Wyoming Department of Transportation, F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Cheyenne Police Department, Board of Public Utilities, Cheyenne Regional Medical Center, Laramie County Community College, Black Hills Energy and the Wyoming Highway Patrol.

Mass notifications are sent to all agencies prior to the predicted event to determine the course of action. This is followed by a 4 a.m. snow call the next day. LCSD1 will physically assess road conditions, driving, visibility, temperatures, etc. The Executive Director of Support Operations will confer with the LCSD1 Superintendent prior to the snow call.

During this decision-making process, all agencies collaborate to reach a conclusion that is in the best interest of all agencies and allows them to work together to reduce the impacts of the decision.

Decisions may include cancellations, delayed start, alternate bus routes, virtual day, etc. Parents will be formally notified of the decision through the district’s ParentSquare mass notification system no later than 5:30 a.m. on the day of the event.

If it is determined that school will be in session, parents/guardians who are not comfortable sending their students to school may keep them home. Parents should call the school to notify the attendance clerk, and the absence will be recorded as excused.

Laramie County School District 1 is seeking nominations for the 2026 LCSD1 Educational Support Person of the Year (ESPY) and Teacher of the Year (TOY) awards. 

Two ESPY awards are granted each year. The Student Support award is presented to a support person who works directly with students as their primary duty (paraeducators, tutors, bus drivers, etc.) Other support staff are eligible for the District Support award (janitors, technical support staff, administrative assistants, etc.)

ESPY nominees must be LCSD1 staff members who have a minimum of one year of continuous employment with LCSD1 prior to nomination. They must also continue to work in LCSD1 through the 2025-2026 school year. Supervisors are ineligible. 

ESPY nominees are scored based on their nomination forms. The deadline for ESPY nominations is Monday, Feb. 2.

The TOY award is presented to one LCSD1 teacher selected from three finalists: an elementary teacher, a junior high teacher, and a high school teacher. The selected teacher will be eligible to submit an application for the 2026-2027 Wyoming Teacher of the Year competition. 

TOY nominees must be Wyoming certified classroom teachers in a state-approved or accredited school. They must also plan to continue an active teaching career with LCSD1 through the 2026-2027 school year. The deadline for nominations is Friday, Feb. 6.

Teachers and support staff may be nominated by LCSD1 staff, students and community members. They may also self-nominate. 

Nominations for all of the awards can be submitted online at www.laramie1.org. 

For more information, call the LCSD1 Community Relations Department at 771-2192.

The next Board of Trustees meeting will be held on Monday, Jan. 26 at 6 p.m. A work session will be held at 4:30 p.m. The meeting can be attended in person or via Zoom. It will also be livestreamed on YouTube. For more information about the Board of Trustees and for virtual meeting links visit https://www.laramie1.org/en-US/new-board-of-trustees-5165ea53.