The Wyoming Elementary

PRINCIPAL An affiliate of the National Association of Elementary School Principals

Wyoming Association of Elementary School Principals

Janet E. Materi, principal of Arp Elementary School in Cheyenne, was selected as Wyoming’s 2007 National Distinguished Principal at the Annual Conference of the Wyoming Association of Elementary School Princi-pals (WAESP) which met in Sheridan, January 17-19. The 2007 celebration marks the 24th year that the Na-tional Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) and the U.S. Department of Education have presented this prestigious award.

“Materi was nominated by her Superintendent of Schools and selected by her fellow principals through a statewide search process conducted by the WAESP,” said Walter Wragge, WAESP Executive Director.

A graduate of the University of Wyoming, Ms. Materi previously held principal positions in Pinedale, and most recently in Rawlins at Mountain View Elementary. She has served as principal of Arp Elementary since 2002. Ms. Materi is a graduate of Upton High School, the daughter of Elsie and the late Lawrence Materi of Upton. Family members who attended the presentation were her mother, Elsie Materi, brother Keith Materi, sisters Yvonne Barritt, Liz Barritt, Christi Hampton, Cheri Claycomb and Lori Olson, brothers-in-law, Tim Barritt, Tom Barritt, all of Upton. Also present were nephew, Cody, Gina and Baby Carson Barritt, from Sheridan.

“Research results prove what school communities know from experience—successful schools depend on dedicated instructional leaders,” said Vincent L. Ferrandino, NAESP’s ex-ecutive director. “This honor represents our deep appreciation to a few of those who are committed to the academic, social, and emotional development of school children both in the nation and overseas.”

The National Distinguished Principals program is made possible through the corporate sponsorship of AIG VALIC, an industry leader currently managing long-term investment pro-grams for more than 28,000 education, healthcare, public sector and other not-for-profit and for-profit organizations in more than 41,000 locations—representing nearly 2 million investors throughout the country.

In October, Materi will travel to Washington, D.C., for two days of activities planned to honor and bring well-deserved recognition to the elementary and middle level educators cho-sen by the states, the District of Columbia, plus private and overseas schools.

“Criteria for selection of the principals, set by NAESP and the U.S. Department of Educa-tion, require that the honorees are active principals of schools where programs are designed to meet the academic and social needs of all students and where there are firmly established com-munity ties with parents and local business organizations,” Wragge said.

See MATERI (Continued on page 4)

Vol. L — No. 3

Upcoming Events

• March 29-April 2, 2007, NAESP An-nual Convention, Seattle, Washing-ton

• April 16-20, 2007, WAESP Elec-tion Week

• June 10, 2007, WAESP Executive Board Meeting, Wapiti Valley

• June 11-12, 2007, WSA Annual Wapiti Conference, Wap-iti Valley

• July 26-28, 2007, NAESP National Leader’s Confer-ence, Washington, D.C.

March 2007

Janet Materi named Wyoming 2007 NDP

President’s Mes-sage 2

Wapiti Speaker 2

State Representa-tive’s Report 3

Candidate’s for WAESP Offices 4-5

Executive Direc-tor’s Report 6

Inside this issue:

New and Return-ing Members 7

NAESP President-Elect Candidates 8

Conference Mo-ments Captured! 9

Membership Form 10

WAESP Board of Directors 10

President’s Message by Layne Parmenter

Page 2 The Wyoming Elementary PRINCIPAL

Greetings, everyone: I hope this letter finds you well and happy––barring that, at least still partially sane. Lately I’ve felt rather like an oversized, pink, misshapen ping pong ball bounc-ing erratically between staff inservices, preparations for PAWS testing, parent meetings, play-ground duty, keeping order in the lunch room, and myriads of other things we do as princi-pals. It was really great to see so many of you at the annual conference in Sheridan. I enjoyed the speakers a great deal, had a wonderful time at the 70’s fun night, and, as usual, the highlight for me was the chance to rub elbows with so many of you. I’m always impressed and amazed at the talent the elementary principals in the state bring to their work. (You should have seen the air guitar contest at the 70’s night if you doubt your colleagues’ talents. It was a thing of wild and unusual beauty.) If you didn’t come this year, please mark your calendars for next year’s conference and come. Many thanks to all of you who helped contribute to this year’s conference, and a special thanks to Walt Wragge for a lot of behind-the-scenes work and preparation in making the conference such a great experience. On a different note: like a lot of you I’ve felt frustrations with the glacial return of PAWS data. I’ve followed your logs on the listserv with a lot of interest and shared a lot of the same feelings. I ask myself why our school spent the better part of three weeks in January taking the PAWS test when––at last call to the state department––the scheduled date of return of the full data will be March 2nd. Due to the dates of our district’s spring vacation, our school intends to start our spring PAWS testing on March 26th. That’s not a lot of turn-around time to prepare, assuming we actually do see the data on March 2nd. At this point, I’m not actually holding my breath it will happen then. On the other hand, I still like the idea of a mid-year opportunity at the PAWS test––if we could actually get data back quickly, say within a week or two. The mid-year testing concept seems advantageous to me, so I’d hate to throw the “baby out with the bathwater” and opt out of the mid-year PAWS too precipitously if there is a chance that next year that we will get information more expeditiously. I’d advocate we lobby vigorously with the WDE for just such a thing. If Harcourt can-not or will not get our data back more quickly, perhaps another company could. Ultimately, we always have the option to not take the PAWS in the middle of the year. I’d just hate to see the schools across the state abandon the notion too soon if it could be viable to have a legitimately quick return of information. Well, in between bounces along the ping-pong table, try to hold on to your sense of humor and sanity. There are a lot of good people out there supporting you and counting on you. May the force be with you.

The mission of WAESP is to promote and support the improvement of educa-tion for all Wyoming children through effective educational leadership.

Layne Parmenter

Jamie Vollmer to be key speaker at Wapiti Conference

“Nobody in America has the right to criticize public education unless he or she has spent a warm Friday afternoon locked in a room with eighth graders. It’s time to stand up and halt the erosion of public trust and build support for America’s public schools!” Jamie Vollmer is a friend of public education and an in-spiring presenter. He is a former businessman and attorney. He was president of the GreatMidwestern Ice Cream Com-pany, proclaimed by People Magazine to make the “Best Ice Cream in America!” In 1988, he joined the nationally recognized Iowa Business and Education Roundtable, becoming its director in 1990. Once a harsh critic, he is now an articulate champion of America’s public schools. He acknowledges the need for

meaningful change, but insists that public education must be broadly and aggressively supported if America is to remain great. In over 3700 speeches, he has used statistics, logic and humor to deliver a positive message regarding the future of our schools. He is a powerful ally in the struggle to create schools that give all students the opportu-nity to unfold their full potential. Wyoming administrators will have the opportunity to hear Mr. Vollmer at the Annual WSA An-nual Wapiti Conference, June 11-12, 2007. Watch for registration materials at a later date.

Rather than me blabbering on I thought I would provide you all some information I just received from Sally McConnell at NAESP, it is regarding information from the Commission on No Child Left Behind – long but well worth the read. “On Tuesday, February 13, the Commission on No Child Left Behind, co-chaired by former governors Tommy Thompson (R-WI) and Roy Barnes (D-GA), released a set of recommendations for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The report is already receiving considerable attention, and the Commis-sion’s members will be working for the inclusion of the recommendations in the reau-thorized ESEA. Although there are some positive recommendations in the report – such as pension portability for teachers and principals, increased focus on professional development for principals, more attention paid to migrant students, and qualified support for a growth model – there are some that reflect the all-too-common shallow thinking that relies heavily on test scores for making major decisions. We’re pleased, of course, that the report calls for professional development to be pro-vided to teachers and principals, but it puts too many limits on that. It does not call for a designated funding stream for prin-cipal professional development; nor does it call for ongoing, high-quality professional development to be provided for teach-ers and principals from the start of their careers (that all important induction period) and throughout. The NCLB Commis-sion’s recommendations instead would limit the professional development requirements to Title I schools and would initiate the professional development only after a school was determined to be in need of improvement. This is too little too late, with no call for actual funding. There are other negatives in the report, too. The report posits a new “Highly Effective Principal” (HEP) designation based mainly on test scores. NAESP will fight to keep this out of the reauthorized ESEA on the basis that it is unnecessary and would lead to more high-stakes decision making on the basis of test scores. It is the states’ responsibility to determine the qualifications of their principals through the use of licensure and certification requirements, and it is up to them to decide whether principals are effective. Moreover, principals are fully accountable and welcome that accountability. They answer for everything that occurs in a school and demonstrate their effectiveness every day. A similar recommendation would expand the “Highly Qualified Teacher” category to “Highly Qualified and Effective Teacher,” similarly based in large part on test scores. We oppose that as well. I mentioned “qualified support for a growth model” above. By that I refer to a recommendation that would require that any state wishing to employ a growth model ad-here to the HQET requirement the Commissions proposes. We support the use of growth models unencumbered by such requirements. One very troublesome recommendation proposes what is known as a private right of action, which means that parents “and other concerned parties” could go into court and sue school districts or states if they felt the law wasn’t being carried out correctly and their child wasn’t receiving all the help he or she deserved. This, of course, smacks of the IDEA and brings to mind all complications, frivolous lawsuits, and costs that have resulted from that. Although the recommendations state that no financial or other penalties could be assessed in these cases, we all know it still costs money and takes significant time for a district to defend against a lawsuit. NAESP opposes this recommendation and will work to keep it out of the law. There are already enforcement mechanisms in place regarding federal education laws, and this recommendation is unwise and

See JONES (Continued on page 4)

Page 3 Volume L - No. 3

State Representative’s Report

WAESP Testimonial: Why WAESP/NAESP? Connections!! One of the greatest benefits I’ve re-ceived by being a member is the opportunity to create collegial relationships with principals throughout our state and some nationally. It has helped me see we are all in this together and often have the same concerns and challenges. By making and keeping our connections with others we have the opportunity to share solutions and brainstorm ideas for all of us to use. WAESP/NAESP is about professional, collegial, and personal relationship building to assist with our professional development. Rene Rickabaugh, Bar Nunn Elementary, Casper

Kenny Jones

Page 4 The Wyoming Elementary PRINCIPAL

Of note, Arp Elementary School was designated a National Distinguished Title I School in 2005, and was the only Wyoming school to be awarded a No Child Left Behind, Blue Ribbon School des-ignation in 2006. Ms. Materi claims that empowering teachers, shared leadership, and collective ownership for student learning are priority characteristics of her leadership style. “I have stepped away from being the central problem solver to creating a team of collaborative decision makers fo-cused on continual improvement,” she said.

For nearly 50 years, the Wyoming Association of Elementary School Principals has served as Wyoming’s professional educational association and now represents nearly 200 elementary and mid-dle level principals and those aspiring to be principals throughout the state. WAESP maintains close ties with the metropolitan Washington-based National Association of Elementary School Principals and its almost 30,000 members nationwide.

MATERI (Continued from page 1)

unwarranted. The report is as interesting for its omissions as for its contents. The Commission co-chairs stated that the panel had a lim-ited charge, and their report does not delve into such items as adequate funding or meeting the so-called nonacademic needs of students (such as we mentioned in the “Supplementing the K-12 Program” section of our ESEA reauthorization docu-ment). These are glaring and unfortunate omissions and we will work to make sure they are addressed in the reauthorization and subsequent appropriations. The chairmen and ranking minority members of the House of Representatives Education and Labor Committee and the Senate Committee of Health, Education, Labor and Pensions all attended the press briefing during which the report was re-leased, and many in the education community and on Capitol Hill believe the recommendations will be seriously considered. That is a good argument for strong grassroots action by principals to forestall the inclusion of the potentially harmful recom-mendations and work for the inclusion of the positive ones in the reauthorized ESEA.” I urge WAESP member to familiarize yourself with this report and contact your federal legislators to let them know how the various recommendations, if enacted, would affect your efforts to increase student achievement and provide the best educational opportunities to all your students. As always, thank you so very much for your commitment to positive action on behalf of principals and the students they serve. If you would like a copy of the executive summary of the commission’s report email me (kjones@park1.k12.wy.us) and I will send one to you.

JONES (Continued from page 3)

Candidates for WAESP Offices 2007-08 It is with great pleasure that we present to you in this issue of The Wyoming Elementary PRINCIPAL, the candidates for WAESP offices for the 2007-08 school year. These candidates were nominated at the Annual Conference held in Sheridan, in January, and have offered answers to five questions that hopefully will help you determine for whom you will vote. The questions are: 1. What is your present position? 2. List your administrative experience. 3. What has been your involvement in WAESP? 4. Why do you want to be (the office they are running for)? 5. What is your short and long range vision for WAESP?

For WAESP President-Elect Ginger Sleep 1. I am currently the principal of Southside Elementary School in Powell. 2. I began my administrative experience as principal of Laura Irwin Elementary School and District Special Education Director in Basin. I served in this position for two years. In 2004, I eagerly accepted the posi-

tion as principal of Southside Elementary School in Powell. 3. I have been a member of WAESP for the past five years. I am currently serving as NW Region Co-President with Alleta Baltes. I have been privileged to serve our region as co-president for the past three years. Last year, I helped coordi-

nate the State Conference in Cody with Executive Director Walt Wragge, Past President Rene' Rickabaugh, and the won-derful "Cody Connections" crew. I must say that our Annual Conference is one of my "favorite professional development activities of the year" and I won't miss it for anything! 4. The mission of WAESP is to "promote and support the improvement of education for all Wyoming children through effective educational leadership." As President, I would be honored to enthusiastically champion WAESP's mission for the children of Wyoming and wholeheartedly support your efforts as effective leaders across our great state. Together we lead. Together we share. Together we make a difference.

(Continued on page 5) SLEEP

Page 5 Volume L - No. 3

5. My short term vision is to support WAESP in its quest to offer support and educational leadership opportunities for its members. Retaining and increasing membership would also be a top priority. My long term vision is to create more profes-sional development and networking opportunities that build on our strengths and needs as an organization. We have a wealth of knowledge and experience that we can share with one an-

SLEEP (Continued from page 4) other, as well as needs (and information) in regards to state and federal requirements and procedures. I have found that "learning together" produces better results and opens doors for higher returns. Positive relationships, a collaborative culture, and active leadership on the part of each member will yield astounding results for our association and of course, our great-est charge...our students!

For WAESP Vice-President Marilyn Flammang 1. I am currently employed at Big Horn School District #4 as Elementary Principal and K-12 District Wide SP. ED. Director. 2. In the state of Wyoming I have been employed by Big Horn School District #4 for 3 years as both Elementary Principal and K-12 District Wide SP. ED. Director.

3. Since moving to the state of Wyoming three years ago I have been an active WAESP member. 4. I am a successful, student advocate, leader, manager, facilita-tor, life-long learner, and want to continue this success as a successful WAESP Vice President along with my colleagues. 5. Short-To fulfill my duties of the State Vice-President for the year 2007-08. Long-To continue to be an active successful member for WAESP.

tive role in the WAESP Association. 5. The short term is to work closely with the President and the other officers. I would like to be involved in finding ways to help all Principals to meet the needs their students. Look into establishing a schol-arship for WAESP members to be used to further their educa-tion and a member's scholarship for a family member that will be going into the field of education (to be available their junior or senior year).

Dale Kari 1. Principal of three Elementary Schools - Hanna, Medicine Bow & Elk Mountain. 2. 12 years in Carbon Co. Dist. #2 as K-12 Principal & K-6 Principal, 7 years in South Dakota as Elementary & Secondary Princi-pal, and 2 years in Montana, K-12 Princi-pal. 3. 12 years as active member. 4. I feel it is time for me to take more ac-

information and improve the education of all WY children. For example, I started the Pre-K program at Holy Name four years ago. Eventually, funding will be provided for WY public schools to implement Pre-K programs and Holy Name would be a resource for the entire state to look at. These kinds of connections are invaluable to principals and provide incredible opportunities for professional growth which will result in in-creased student learning. Last but not least, WAESP also provides opportunities for con-nections to be made socially between peers, especially among some of our more isolated principals such as those in small towns or those in non-public schools. Speaking from experi-ence these principals may be the newest in the profession and they need the additional support that can be provided by WAESP in order to obtain a greater degree of success in their chosen profession. Overall, WAESP is a potentially powerful organization that can move mountains if need be. I have seen tremendous growth in WAESP both in numbers and increased organization in the years I have belonged to it. This is definitely a “winning team”. I am privileged to be a member and I am very willing to help the organization by becoming Vice-President if elected. Thanks for your consideration!

Toni Wendt 1. Principal at Holy Name Catholic School in Sheridan. This is a Preschool, Pre-K, K-8 school. 2. Five years at Holy Name Catholic School in Sheridan. One year assistant ad-ministrator at a K-12 school in Weskan, KS. Nine years teaching Art, Science, and misc. at a K-12 school in Weskan, KS.

Nine years teaching Art at Barton County Community College in Great Bend, KS. 3. I attended the last several state conferences. I begged Walt to be my mentor when the WAESP mentoring program first came out. (Walt, are you willing to admit that you mentored me?) 4. I have taken advantage of the many opportunities provided by WAESP to learn and grow as an administrator. From talk-ing Walt into being my mentor, to attending state conferences. The individual people in WAESP are a tremendous help to me as a first time principal and I would like to give something back to the organization if I am deemed the right person to do so. 5. I believe we need to increase enrollment and participation in WAESP. The more principals we have in the state working together towards a common goal the more likely we can share

Membership. Membership in WAESP/NAESP just keeps going up. At present, we have 197 members, the highest number of members in my term as Executive Direc-tor. This is a very healthy sign for our organization. An-other healthy sign is the willingness of our members to step forward to take on leadership roles. Your WAESP Board continues to be a dedicated group of individuals focused on our mission of “promoting and supporting the improve-ment of education for all Wyoming children through effec-tive educational leadership.” WAESP Annual Conference. The WAESP Annual Conference in Sheridan, was a great success. Over 70 Wyo-ming principals attended and enjoyed the speakers and ac-tivities. Our Wednesday full day speaker, Arnold Shapiro, was very well accepted and his humor and video clips helped to tell his story. The nice variety of breakout sessions on Thursday allowed participants to attend a number of different topic sessions. Our Friday morning speaker, Vicki Sanderson, was outstanding as her strong message and humor brought the conference to a close. The Wednesday night Fun Night was a real hoot and we thank Terry Bren-ner, NAESP Zone VII Director, for the part he played in that event. There are so many others to thank: Bob Heimbaugh for his help with the Vendor Fair, Bob and Brent Caldwell for organizing the Fun Night at the Wagon Box Inn, Sheridan principals for their help, especially Jason Hillman who headed up the Door Prize effort, Linda Adelson who worked with me on the registration gift, and the others who helped with the stuffing of packets, and of course the individuals who led the differ-ent Breakout Sessions. Everyone was just great. Thanks to all who helped. Vendor Fair. The newly designed Vendor Fair at this year’s conference was a huge success. Thanks to Bob Heimbaugh for the work he did on organizing it and being in contact with the vendors. The reports that we have had indicate that it was very much appreciated by vendors and principals alike. WAESP Election and Timetable. WAESP members will vote for WAESP officers by means of an electronic ballot again this year by order of the WAESP Executive Board. At it’s January board meeting, it was unanimously voted to continue with the electronic ballot. Candidates for

WAESP offices (President-Elect, and Vice-President) are being pre-sented in this issue (please see pages 4-5). The actual online balloting will take place during the week of April 16-20. Members will be noti-fied of the link to the ballot and it should take only less than a minute to cast the ballot. ALL WAESP members are encouraged to cast a ballot this year. Less than 50% of the membership voted in last year’s election and the board is hoping for a higher turnout this year. So mark April 16-20 on your calendars as WAESP Election Week.

Wapiti Conference. The Annual WSA Wapiti Conference will be held on Monday and Tuesday, June 11-12, 2007, in beautiful Wapiti Valley. The WAESP is again coordinating the conference this year and has in place an outstanding program for Wyoming administrators. Our main speaker on Monday, June 11, will be Jamie Vollmer (please see the related article on page 2). Mr. Vollmer will bring a strong message and humor to the conference. And we will have with us our State Super-intendent of Public Instruction, Dr. Jim McBride, who will bring us a state of the WDE for us all. Mark the dates on your

calendar and watch for registration materials both electroni-cally and in the May issue of The Wyoming Elementary PRIN-CIPAL. New Regional Presidents. The WAESP is pleased to announce the selection of new Regional Presidents for the 2007-08 school year. In the Northwest Region, Dennis Oman , Lander, will be replacing Alleta Baltes, who has served the WAESP very well for several years. The new Northeast Regional President will be Jason Hillman, Sheri-dan, who will replace Barry Jankord. Barry has also served the WAESP very well for the past few years. We are still looking for a replacement in the Southwest/West Region for David Hvidston, who will be stepping down, and also for Northwest Region President, Ginger Sleep, who is run-ning for President-Elect. Any member in the South-west/West or Northwest Regions interested in stepping up into a leadership role should contact me immediately. You’ll be glad that you did!

Walter Wragge, Executive Director

WAESP Executive Director’s Report

Page 6 The Wyoming Elementary PRINCIPAL

“Any member in the Southwest/West or Northwest Regions

interested in stepping up into a leadership role should contact

me immediately. You’ll be glad that

you did!”

Page 7 Volume L - No. 3

The WAESP is pleased to welcome New and Re-turning Members from January 3, 2007, to March 3, 2007: NEW ACTIVE MEMBERS: Richard Edwards Meeteetse School Meeteetse Jared Moretti Powell High School Powell NEW ASSOCIATE MEMBER: Toni Neiman Hulett School Hulett NEW RETIREE: Gary White Encampment

WAESP welcomes New and Returning Members NEW ASPIRING MEMBERS: Elizabeth Coffey Slade Elementary Laramie Mitch Craft Big Horn High School Big Horn Cindy Schmid Freedom Elementary Cheyenne RENEWING MEMBERS: Steve Ellbogen Dean Morgan JH Casper Jeff Felton Gilchrist Elementary Cheyenne Cindy Pilch Afflerbach Elementary Cheyenne Penny Roberts Conestoga Elementary Gillette Owen St. Clair Wyoming Indian Elementary Ethete Brent Young Buffalo Ridge Elementary Cheyenne

Thanks for your Support!

Wyoming’s NDP Banner hangs proudly at Arp Ele-mentary School in Cheyenne.

Janet Materi enjoys a moment with her students at an all school assembly to honor her.

Janet celebrates with students at school. They are all so proud.

Janet Materi accepts her award from the 2006 Wyo-ming NDP, Scott Stults.

Page 8 The Wyoming Elementary PRINCIPAL

NAESP President-Elect Candidates Nancy Davenport The most important person in the schools today is the PRINCI-PAL—the key person who shoul-ders the final responsibility for school success. I believe that princi-pals DO make the significant dif-ference in the quality of education for children in our schools. As a candidate for NAESP President-elect, I would be honored to repre-sent you by emphasizing the multi-

faceted responsibilities of the principalship, including the im-portance of being an effective instructional leader and our role in school accountability. It would be my privilege to be your VOICE in the National Association of Elementary School Principals.

NAESP is an excellent professional association for elemen-tary and middle-level principals, assistant principals, aspiring principals, and other concerned administrators throughout our nation and internationally. We can work together to be even stronger by encouraging the involvement of all members, devel-oping collaborative relationships, and embracing the great lead-ership abilities and skills of our members. We need to tap the knowledge and talents of principals, throughout the United States and around the world, so we can share best practices and effectively mentor new school leaders in the upcoming years. Working together, we can positively influence the future of education for all children while leaving a legacy of excellence.

Knowing the importance of our work as principals and hav-ing a strong loyalty to NAESP, I pledge to work tirelessly to see that we are highly respected as the best professional association of elementary and middle-level principals. Collaboratively working with you, our Board of Directors and headquarters staff, we can enhance our professional development activities, strengthen services and benefits, and increase membership. I would value the opportunity to participate in NAESP initia-tives, committees, and activities as President-elect. As an enthu-siastic advocate for the principalship and our association, it would be important to me to work with national legislators and educational leaders about the NAESP legislative platform. It would be a great privilege to continue working with the Vision 2021 Project to address the future of education and determine the needs of our members; thereby, making our professional organization the absolute best it can be!

With your trust and confidence, we can carry the message to community leaders, parents, legislators, and all educators, no matter what their leadership or teaching position, that school principals can and do make a meaningful difference in the edu-cation and lives of children. I am passionate about being a prin-cipal. It is with a seriousness of purpose that I ask for your vote as the next President-elect of the National Association of Ele-mentary School Principals.

Pat Hould Dear Fellow Zone VII Wyoming NAESP colleagues, Welcome to Lewistown Junior High School Pride, where excel-lence and enthusiasm collide. My name is Pat Hould and I am very proud to be the principal at LJHS. In addition to being the principal of this awesome school in Central Montana, I am thrilled to report that I have been selected by the NAESP nominating committee as one of two candidates for the position of President-Elect. I can’t begin to tell you how honored I am to be in the running for this golden opportunity which would enable me to support and work with principals across this great nation. For the past seven years I have devoted myself to leadership positions within the Montana Association of Elementary and Middle School Principals (MAEMSP) and the National Asso-ciation of Elementary Principals (NAESP). From 2004 to the present, I have had the privilege of serving on the NAESP Board as the Middle Level Representative. These amazing ex-periences in concert with the many connections I have made with my Principal colleagues across this land have energized me for the next role I aspire to play, that as your next President-Elect of NAESP. If my aspirations come to fruition then I will work diligently to build relationships with my principal col-leagues and I will assist this Association in providing the re-sources principals need to demonstrate a caring commitment to our young people. I will work to instill a strong sense of community into the ranks of NAESP by wholeheartedly sup-porting the Vision 2021 process and I will work diligently with NAESP to support and bolster the tradition of meaningful learning opportunities for our members. Words cannot describe how excited and enthusiastic I am about this extraordinary opportunity. I would greatly appreci-ate your vote and the support of the principals from the great state of Wyoming in the upcoming election. I look forward to serving you as your next President-Elect of NAESP. Take care and I look with favor at the possibility of meeting you in Seat-tle!

Page 9 Volume L - No. 3

Conference Moments Captured!

Our Principal Mission is YOU….. Join Us Today! Please type or print ___ New member ___Renewing member (information is the same) ___Renewing member (with changes below) Name_________________________________________________ Date of Birth _______________________________ Position ____________________________ School ____________________________________Grade Config.________ School Address ____________________________________________________________________________________ City ______________________________________________ State _____________________ Zip__________________ School Phone ______________________________________ School Fax _____________________________________ Home Address ____________________________________________________________________________________ Home Phone ______________________ Email Address____________________________________________________ Preferred Address: ___ Home___ School Referred by: __________________________________________ Type of Membership: Method of Payment, check one: ___ WAESP/NAESP Active $350 Make checks payable to WAESP. ___ WAESP/NAESP Institutional/Active 400 ___ Check enclosed ___ PO ___ Payroll Deduction ___ WAESP/NAESP Retired 80 Credit Card: ___ Mastercard ___ Visa ___ AX ___ NAESP Emeritus 108 Card # _________________________________________ ___ WAESP/NAESP Aspiring 85 Expiration Date: __________________________________ ___ WAESP/NAESP Associate 145 Signature ________________________________________

Mail form along with payment to: Walter Wragge, 346 South Main, Sheridan, WY 82801, Phone/Fax: 307 674-8821 Email: wwragge@fiberpipe.net

Membership Anniversary Date: November 1. Dues prorated after February 1.

Page 10 The Wyoming Elementary PRINCIPAL

PRESIDENT: Layne Parmenter, Urie Elementary, Lyman, 782-6429 PRESIDENT-ELECT: Scott Stults, Sheridan Junior High, Sheridan, 674-6545 VICE-PRESIDENT: Anne Ochs, Rawhide Elementary, Gillette, 682-0774 PAST PRESIDENT: Rene Rickabaugh, Bar Nunn Elementary, Casper, 577-4507 STATE REPRESENTATIVE: Kenny Jones, Parkside Elementary, Powell, 754-5187 MIDDLE LEVEL REPRESENTATIVE: Scott Schiller, Powell Middle School, Powell, 754-5716 SECRETARY: Mary Jo Chouinard, Rendezvous School, Riverton, 857-7070 TREASURER: Betsy Sell, Park County Dist. No. 6, Cody, 587-4253

Your WAESP Board of Directors. . . . . STATE LEGISLATION: Dave Olsen, Paintbrush Elementary, Gillette, 686-1778 FEDERAL RELATIONS: Matt Hoch, Conestoga Elementary, Gillette, 686-2373 NORTHWEST REGION PRESIDENTS: Ginger Sleep, Southside Elementary, Powell, 754-5189 Alleta Baltes, Ashgrove Elementary, Riverton, 856,2626 NORTHEAST REGION PRESIDENT: Barry Jankord, Meadowlark Elementary, Gillette, 682-4740 CENTRAL REGION PRESIDENT: Mike Bond, McKinley Elementary, Casper, 577-6735 SOSUTHWEST/WEST REGION PRESIDENT: Dave Hvidston, Overland Elementary, Rock Springs, 352-3260 SOUTHEAST REGION PRESIDENT: Carla Gregorio, Hebard Elementary, Cheyenne, 771-2450 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/EDITOR: Walt Wragge, Sheridan, 674-8821