School's Out

School is out in our little town, and kids are going on summer break. The swimming pool opens a half hour after school is dismissed. I remember more of my last days of schools than first days from when I was a kid. Over the past few years, I have made several posts about the history of Wyoming and schools in our state. Today I thought that I would take a look at a few significant dates in the history of Wyoming schools.

1852 – The first school opened at Fort Laramie, children of officers and traders attended.

1868 – Wyoming Territory was created July 25, 1868, and the first public school opened in Cheyenne.

1873 – New Wyoming school code provided education to all children ages seven to sixteen. At the time, Wyoming had eight public schools and three private schools.

1875 – Cheyenne opens the state’s first public high school.

1886 – The University of Wyoming in Laramie founded with a grant of $50,000 from Legislature.

1890 – Wyoming became a state, and the office of State Superintendent of Schools becomes one of five elected state officials.

1934 – Wyoming boasted over 1,000 rural public schools.

1942 – School opened for interned Japanese children at Heart Mountain, a United States Government Relocation Center, near Powell.

2002 – The School Facilities Commission was created by the Legislature to fund and control school construction in the state.

Sad, but my old Elementary School is only a memory now.