GREEN RIVER — Sweetwater County School District No. 2 received several compliments from the team lead of the Wyoming Department of Education’s peer review and accreditation review team Tuesday evening.
Joel Dvorak said some of the highlights from the review include the board’s working relationship amongst its members and with the superintendent, the administration hired at the district central office, the climate of safety and support within the district, as well as the district’s work with other community stakeholders.
Dvorak said the board recently had a number of new members elected and was impressed how quickly those board members were brought up to speed.
“You guys are working really well together, and it was really great to see that,” he said.
For the Central Administration Building, Dvorak said the district runs a lean but strategic operation as the district continues to deal with reduced funding resulting from smaller enrollment numbers. Dvorak specifically referred to Assistant Superintendent Alan Demaret and Central Office Director Anne Marie Covey as “absolute rock stars” for the work they do. He also described the district’s building principals as a great group, saying “every ship has a great captain in the district.”
Dvorak said the climate of support and safety was rated exemplary by the review team, especially in supporting students and staff with their mental health needs. He said the trauma-informed work and mental health partnerships in place within the district to take care of students and staff should be commended. One stakeholder partnership he commended was the regular meetings district staff have with the Sweetwater County Attorney’s Office to help students who are at risk.
Dvorak said the team also went into the district schools and noticed “positive, engaging classrooms” throughout the district, which includes leading-edge education in artificial intelligence. He mentioned the district’s high graduation rate as well.
“A 91% four-year graduation rate doesn’t happen on accident,” Dvorak said. “It’s a very, very hard, intentional thing and along the I-80 corridor, I would argue you have, if not the best, one of the top two graduation rates.
Career Technical Education Architect Approval
While the approval of an architect for Green River High School’s Career and Technical Education Renovation Project was listed on the board’s agenda, the board opted to hold off selection until its March 10, 2026 meeting. During the board’s workshop prior to the meeting, Superintendent Scott Cooper asked the board to consider hosting discussions with the two architectural firms interested in the project. Those discussions are tentatively scheduled to take place Feb. 11, 2026 at 6 p.m. The time following those discussions will allow the district to consider the proposals and see what its funding sources will look like as the March meeting takes place shortly after the state recalibrates school district funding.
Board Officers and Committee Assignments
The board opted to unanimously approve retaining both the board officers and the trustees’ current committee assignments for the new year. The board has the opportunity to re-organize and vote for new officers each December. Ashley Castillon is the board’s chairperson, Tom Wilson is its vice-chair, Mandy Drinkle is the treasurer, and Michelle Foley is the board’s clerk.
