Living in Cody? (Riverton: home, school, housing)

[Froggie Legs]

Actually you can find smoke-free dining all over the state. Not all places are forced to be smoke free, but many opt to be.

http://www.health.wyo.gov/mhsa/prevention/SmokeFreeDining.html this map shows the listings for various counties.

And I agree, EH, I had no problem eating out when I lived and visited there. Gillette had a really good Chinese place I tried while there. Not a buffet but menu type in a little strip mall. Also enjoyed eating out at Gannet Grill in Lander, for sit down, and Breadboard subs for fast food.

[danisiri]

Thank you for the info! We would be taking over for a retiring dentist, so competition won't be increasing. We are looking for a community with good, honest, hardworking people. We live in a rural area right now and love the people, but unemployment in this county is around 25% and we are having a hard time surviving. We are conservative libertarians at heart and just want the chance to work hard, serve the community, and raise a family.

[georgiainwyo]

If you have something lined up with a retiring dentist, then I say GO FOR IT!!!!!

[ghostrider42]

Glad we educated our children elsewhere

State

[georgiainwyo]

Originally Posted by ghostrider42

Glad we educated our children elsewhere

State

As an educator I have to say that although AYP is one indicator of how schools are doing, it is not the say-all, end-all. Many schools who have proven competent by the outcome of students who are ready for life beyond public school have at one time or another not met AYP. This score is just the result of ONE test given one time a year. As we all know, one stand-alone test does not prove anything other than how the students did on that particular day. This is a downfall of NCLB. I do not work in the Cody district so I have nothing to gain or lose by giving my opinion. I have, however, known many students who have and/or are attending the Cody schools as well as know several teachers, and after being involved in several districts I believe that the Cody district is doing a great job educating the youth of the area. There are programs that are geared toward students of all types at all grade levels. Teachers are committed. As a special educator I am aware that test scores of students with disabilities (unless they are very severe) are counted toward AYP. As many others do, I feel that this is not a fair accounting of how the school does as a whole. If a district has a large number of students with disabilities it doesn't take much to pull scores down. I am hoping that changes come forth in the near future that result in better indicators of school success.

[ghostrider42]

Really - did you read the article?

The smaller schools - Wapiti, Valley (all 4-8 students) and Meeteetse managed to avoid those problems. Granted the No Child Left Behind leaves a lot to be desired. I joked with someone online about this "problem in Cody" and they told me that 139 schools in Wyo didn't pass including several that have consistently not passed in the last 4 years! Note that Rawlins, Cheyenne schools were not on this list.

We lived in Cody-Wapiti for about 28 years and found the smaller schools to be preferable to the larger. Now that we are back East, not only would they lose Fed funding but if it continued, some would flirt with losing their acreditation too.

[georgiainwyo]

Originally Posted by ghostrider42

Really - did you read the article?

The smaller schools - Wapiti, Valley (all 4-8 students) and Meeteetse managed to avoid those problems. Granted the No Child Left Behind leaves a lot to be desired. I joked with someone online about this "problem in Cody" and they told me that 139 schools in Wyo didn't pass including several that have consistently not passed in the last 4 years! Note that Rawlins, Cheyenne schools were not on this list.

We lived in Cody-Wapiti for about 28 years and found the smaller schools to be preferable to the larger. Now that we are back East, not only would they lose Fed funding but if it continued, some would flirt with losing their acreditation too.

Of course I know the statistics. I am the special education director in Meeteetse, so I do know what I'm talking about. We in Meeteetse are proud that we met AYP and we do recognize that the smaller classes does have something to to with that. However, that does not mean the Cody, or any other town that did not meet AYP, is inadequate. Most people would rightly prefer the small school/small class size as it only makes sense that the teacher:student ratio helps a lot. What I am saying is that the system that is set up is flawed, so although AYP is again, ONE MEASURE of student success, it is just that, only one. Don't put all of your eggs in one basket when considering what is or isn't a good education. I honestly believe that Wyoming has some of the best schools in the country. Comparing Cody to Meeteetse, for instance, looks very differently than comparing Cody to schools in other states, etc. We are all fortunate to be involved in education in Wyoming where things are much better for students and staff than in most of the country.

[tigergal]

Originally Posted by ghostrider42

Really - did you read the article?

The smaller schools - Wapiti, Valley (all 4-8 students) and Meeteetse managed to avoid those problems. Granted the No Child Left Behind leaves a lot to be desired. I joked with someone online about this "problem in Cody" and they told me that 139 schools in Wyo didn't pass including several that have consistently not passed in the last 4 years! Note that Rawlins, Cheyenne schools were not on this list.

We lived in Cody-Wapiti for about 28 years and found the smaller schools to be preferable to the larger. Now that we are back East, not only would they lose Fed funding but if it continued, some would flirt with losing their acreditation too.

My background is in educational research and school reform. A lot of our work revolved around evaluating and analyzing these instruments and measures. They are more flawed than you would want to believe. All it takes is one small subset to sink a school's rating - even if that subset involves a miniscule percentage of the whole school population. Looking at the raw test scores available on the test site can show you which subset threw off the whole school system's ranking. It's been a flawed system from Day 1. Unfortunately, the people who make the laws about AYP and NCLB are legislators at the federal level who have not one iota of professional knowledge about education or about educational psychology. It's the equivalent of asking your podiatrist for legal advice.

Cody schools are quite good. We paid upwards of $10,000 per year for tuition for years for private school before we moved. The education here is leaps and bounds beyond what we paid for there.

[Happy in Wyoming]

Potential newcomers need to be aware that we have private schools as well as freedom for those who wish to homeschool their children. No one neeeds to rely on government schools here.

We can replace government schools with private schools and homeschooling. The lower taxes will more than make up the difference.

[georgiainwyo]

Originally Posted by tigergal

My background is in educational research and school reform. A lot of our work revolved around evaluating and analyzing these instruments and measures. They are more flawed than you would want to believe. All it takes is one small subset to sink a school's rating - even if that subset involves a miniscule percentage of the whole school population. Looking at the raw test scores available on the test site can show you which subset threw off the whole school system's ranking. It's been a flawed system from Day 1. Unfortunately, the people who make the laws about AYP and NCLB are legislators at the federal level who have not one iota of professional knowledge about education or about educational psychology. It's the equivalent of asking your podiatrist for legal advice.

Cody schools are quite good. We paid upwards of $10,000 per year for tuition for years for private school before we moved. The education here is leaps and bounds beyond what we paid for there.

Well stated, Tigergal!