• Category 2

    Selected in 2025

  • Grades: pre k - 6
    School Setting: urban
    Town Population: 65
    Student Enrollment: 220
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 0.4%
    White/Caucasian: 56%
    Hispanic: 33%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 0.4%
    Native American: 0.9%
    Other: 9.3%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:17
    % Reduced Lunch: 70%
    % ELL Learners: 5%
    Founded: 1987
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Brook Yearsley
  • CONTACT:
    1514 East 16th Street
    Cheyenne, WY 82001
    307-771-2310
    brook.yearsley@laramie1.org
Alta Vista Elementary School
Cheyenne, WY
1. What key actions or strategies have been most instrumental to your school’s success?
Our team’s success comes from strong collaboration, a shared purpose, and continual reflection. Weekly Collaborative Team meetings focus on prioritized standards, the district GVC, and data from WYTOPP and FastBridge. Teams set SMART goals and break standards into manageable steps used to form targeted intervention groups. Specialists support Tier II instruction in three-week cycles, and students move groups as they master skills. Common Formative Assessments and other data guide regrouping and next steps. If less than 80% reach proficiency, teams reevaluate Tier I and Tier II practices. This repeating cycle—teach, analyze, intervene, reflect—creates a continuous, effective system that supports all students.
2. What significant challenges did your school face during your improvement efforts, and how did you address them?
Alta Vista's challenges, include trauma-related behaviors and socioeconomic stress. The Peacekeepers program, MTSS collaboration, and Behavior Support Specialists help students make proactive behavior choices. With the principal’s leadership, teachers gained support through Peacekeepers and Olweus, giving students tools to manage emotions and solve problems. Student Support Specialists model and coach positive engagement strategies. Staff also worked through difficult second-order change to strengthen PLC processes, motivated by student growth. District cuts required shifts in Tier II and III interventions, using small groups, paraprofessionals, and extended-day instruction. Adjustments to prioritized standards were made due to new programs and changing student needs. The Guiding Coalition is addressing low vocabulary performance and aligning academic vocabulary. Additional staffing cuts created single-section grades, so cross-grade and specialist collaboration now supports CT work.
3. How did professional development contribute to your school’s improvement efforts?
Professional development has been essential to Alta Vista’s growth. Kagan strategies increase student engagement, ensuring many students share learning at once. Work with Solution Tree consultants Jerrod Dastrup and Katie White have strengthened PLC practices, Collaborative Teams, data use, standards alignment, and CFA creation. This training has built an interdependent culture where all students are supported. Peacekeepers training helps students manage emotions and resolve conflict productively, a critical need in our Title I setting. Jerrod supports effective team meetings and leadership, while Katie guides backward planning, assessment rigor, and vertical vocabulary alignment. Staff receive PD twice a month on CT goals, Peacekeepers, Kagan, and MTSS/PBIS, and also participate in additional leadership and MTSS teams. Teachers can attend district trainings, and we have Stephanie Sturtevant who provides in house Kagan professional development.
4. In what ways did family and/or community partnerships support your school’s success?
Alta Vista strengthens family connections through monthly PBIS assemblies that celebrate academics and Wolf of the Month, bringing families into the school in a positive way. The school also hosts Title I family nights with community-supported food, books, and activities. Partnerships with LCCC and local organizations provide learning opportunities for students and support for parents, including GED help, citizenship classes, and CLIMB Wyoming programs. The school prioritizes family needs by collecting and distributing clothing, offering gift cards and support during crises, and even arranging transportation for students when needed. Staff frequently partner with community organizations to connect families with additional resources.
5. How has ESEA funding (e.g., Title I, II, III) been strategically used to support student achievement?
At Alta Vista we prioritized the needs of students and hire additional staff to support those needs. We have hired an academic interventionist and student support specialist to help with both academic and behavioral concerns. We have also prioritized the professional development that staff are presented to move forward as an entire school where we are data driven in servicing the whole child. We are fortunate to receive additional funding (Title I) to grow our students and staff.
6. What advice would you give to a school just beginning its improvement journey?
School improvement can feel overwhelming, so we advise starting with one step at a time. For us, the first step was improving school climate and culture. Our principal built meaningful relationships with students and staff, brought stability after leadership turnover, and introduced Kagan, Peacekeepers, and PLC practices to foster hope and consistency. Commitment and fidelity to district programs, Kagan structures, PLC processes, and Peacekeeper guidelines created a safe, predictable environment with high expectations—especially important for students experiencing trauma. We also focus on celebrating small successes to sustain morale, using shout-outs, treats, and shared celebrations to build a supportive, resilient team.
Stats
  • Category 2

    Selected in 2025

  • Grades: pre k - 6
    School Setting: urban
    Town Population: 65
    Student Enrollment: 220
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 0.4%
    White/Caucasian: 56%
    Hispanic: 33%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 0.4%
    Native American: 0.9%
    Other: 9.3%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:17
    % Reduced Lunch: 70%
    % ELL Learners: 5%
    Founded: 1987
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Brook Yearsley
  • CONTACT:
    1514 East 16th Street
    Cheyenne, WY 82001
    307-771-2310
    brook.yearsley@laramie1.org