Laramie County School District 1 Announces New Staff Members for the Upcoming Year

J0hnson Named New Athletic Director of South High

Wendy Johnson was recommended to the Board of Trustees to be the next athletic director for South High, and she was approved during the board meeting on May 16. She replaces Mark Puev. 

Prior to being hired at South, Johnson served as activities director and assistant principal at School District 93, Idaho Falls, Idaho. In that role she developed athletic schedules for 10 teams in the district’s  4A/5A conference, facilitated hiring, evaluation, retaining or releasing coaches and maintained records of student eligibility and status for athletic teams. She also coordinated team budgets, game revenue, game expenses and completed evaluations for nine teachers on staff. 

In Idaho Falls School District 91, Johnson taught biology, physical education and health and served as faculty sponsor for the boys’ volleyball club and Power Buff competition. Before that, she established the Idaho Falls Peak Volleyball Club where she organized and ran the travel and local volleyball club for athletes in Eastern Idaho. Through this, she guided and helped athletes with college recruiting and assistance with collegiate program placement. 

Johnson holds as associate’s degree in general studies from Laramie County Community College, a bachelor’s degree in exercise science from the University of Wyoming, a bachelor’s degree in physical education and health from UW, and a master’s degree in educational leadership from Western  Governors University. 

The decision to recommend Johnson to the Board of Trustees was based on a thorough hiring process, which included an interview and recommendations from a diverse selection committee. 

Burkhardt Hired as District’s Director of Student Services

Rachelle “Arby” Burkhardt was recommended to the Board of Trustees to be hired as the district’s director of student services, and she was approved during the June 6 board meeting.  

Burkhardt has served as a school psychologist with LCSD1 since 2018. Prior to that, she was the director of exceptional student services and coordinator of exceptional student services for Weld Re-8 School District in Fort Lupton, Colorado. While in Weld Re-8, she also served as a special education teacher coach and school psychologist. 

Additionally, she served as a school psychologist for Rochester Public Schools in Rochester, Minnesota, and worked at Weld County School District 6, in Greeley, Colorado, as a school psychologist, a middle school teacher and an elementary school teacher. She served as a special education teacher for Intermediate School District #916 in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, and Pikes Peak BOCES in Colorado  Springs, Colorado, as well as a special education teacher for Weld County School District Re-3J in  Keenesburg, Colorado. 

Burkhardt holds a bachelor’s degree in special education, a master’s degree in special education and an Education Specialist (Ed.S) degree in school psychology from the University of Northern Colorado. She has also completed the Educational Administrator License Program from the University of Colorado Denver. 

The decision to recommend Burkhardt to the Board of Trustees was based on a thorough hiring process, which included an interview and recommendations from a diverse selection committee. 

Evans Hired as District’s English Language Arts Secondary Curriculum Coordinator

Joseph Evans has been hired by Laramie County School District 1 as the district’s English language arts secondary curriculum coordinator. He as was recommended to the Board of Trustees and approved  during the June 6 meeting. 

Most recently, Evans worked at Carey Junior High where he served as the English language arts (ELA) department chair. In that role, he motivated new and veteran teachers to persist in quality instruction and moderated discussions between administration and teachers. He initiated collaboration between staff members and maintained responsible budgeting. He also serves on the ELA curriculum and assessment committee as well as the Wyoming Department of Education’s ELA standards review committee. 

Evans is a seventh-grade ELA and reading teacher at Carey and served as a substitute teacher in the district. He worked as an English teaching assistant at Lycée Emile Peytavin high school in Mende, France, and served as a long-term substitute and student teacher at Ferris High School in Spokane, Washington.  

Evans holds a bachelor’s degree in English secondary education with a minor in secondary French from Eastern Washington University. He received his master’s degree in education, curriculum and instruction with an emphasis on literacy from the University of Wyoming. 

The decision to recommend Evans to the Board of Trustees was based on a thorough hiring process, which included an interview and recommendations from a diverse selection committee. 

Ross Hired as District’s Professional Learning Coordinator

Teresa Ross has been hired by Laramie County School District 1 as the district’s professional learning coordinator. She was recommended to the Board of Trustees and approved during the May 16 board meeting. 

In her new role, Ross will design, deliver and evaluate district professional learning programs for all employees that align with the district’s strategic plan. This will include increasing teacher capacity in areas such as student engagement, positive environment and culture, pedagogy and purpose, formative instruction and assessment and collaboration.  

Prior to being hired as professional learning coordinator, Ross has served as principal at Prairie Wind Elementary since 2020. There she led professional development which focused on high leverage instruction, professional learning community cycles and reading practices. 

Before joining LCSD1, she worked as curriculum, instruction and human resources director in Rawlins, Wyoming. In this role, she implemented and supported district curriculum and instruction efforts and initiatives. Ross was responsible for executing federal and state programs and led the teacher induction/mentoring program as well as the accreditation process. She wrote job descriptions, recruited candidates and conducted HR investigations. 

She also worked as principal at Indian Paintbrush Elementary in Laramie, and served as an instructional facilitator, and taught reading and English language arts at the seventh- through 12th-grade level. 

Ross hold’s a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Wyoming, a bachelor’s degree from UW in secondary education, a master’s degree in K-12 literacy from University of New England Online, Biddeford, Maine, and a K-12 school administration degree from UW. 

The decision to recommend Ross to the Board of Trustees was based on a thorough hiring process, which included an interview and recommendations from a diverse selection committee. 

Story by Laramie County School District 1