WYOMING PROFILE 

 

 

At the heart of the Action for Healthy Kids Initiative are State Teams composed of individuals who are committed to improving the nutrition and fitness of our nation’s children. To help State Teams understand the challenges they face, the State Profiles provide important background information and data on nutrition and fitness. The State Profiles have been developed for every state, the District of Columbia, and the nation.

 

While there are numerous activities happening in local school districts and cities, the Profiles were limited to national and state-level data. 

 

Each State Profile contains the following:

 

        1. School Demographics: Numbers of students, ethnic breakdown of the students, number of school buildings, teachers, districts, and building and district staff

        2. Charter Schools: Number of students, charter schools, and legislation

        3. Health Behaviors and Risks: If available for the state, this section will contain overweight/obesity rates, nutrition/dietary and physical activity behaviors and risks

        4. BMI: National rates for 9-18 year olds

        5. School Food Programs & Hunger: Percentages of food insecurity and participation levels in the school breakfast and lunch programs

        6. Income Demographics: Per capita income and unemployment and poverty rates

        7. Legislation: Links and information about statutes pertaining to nutrition and fitness

        8. Policy: Information about policies on food and physical education/activity in the schools

        9. Standards and Assessment: National/state-specific standards and graduation requirements. This section also describes types of assessment projects with which states are currently involved

        10. Important State Links: State education agency, state health agency, state agriculture agency contact information, and after school programs available at your state

        11. References: Contains all data sources and notes for information shared in profiles

 

 

National and State Profiles are available for public view and use at www.ActionForHealthyKids.org .  

1) WYOMING SCHOOL DEMOGRAPHICS1,2,3

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing U.S. education data. All NCES data and reports are publicly available and easily accessible. The most recent public school data available are for the school year 2001-2002, and the most recent private school data that provide state level data are for the school year 1999-2000. 

        

 

 

Total Number of Students in Public Schools1: 87,866  

 

Number of Public School Districts2: 48  

 

Number of Public School Building Staff1,‡: 6,382 

 

Number of Public School District Staff1, ß: 640

 

† “Elementary” numbers were calculated by adding grades kindergarten to 6th data sets.

Ø “Secondary” numbers were calculated by adding grades 7th to 12th data sets.

µ “Ungraded” are students who are assigned to programs or classes without a standard grade designation. States are requested to report teachers of “ungraded” classes even if all students are assigned a grade level.

‡ “Building staff” are instructional aids, instructional coordinators and supervisors, elementary and 

secondary guidance counselors/directors, librarians, library staff, school administrative support staff, student support services, and all support services related jobs.

ß “District staff” are LEA administrators and administrative support staff.  

 

 

 

 

Total Number of Students in Private Schools3 : 2,220  

 

† “Elementary” numbers were calculated by adding grades kindergarten to 6th data sets.

Ø “Secondary” numbers were calculated by adding grades 7th to 12th data sets.

µ “Combined” is a school that may include kindergarten to 6th grade and one or more grades from 9th to 12th.

 

2) WYOMING CHARTER SCHOOLS4

Charter schools are nonsectarian public schools of choice that operate with freedom from many of the regulations that apply to traditional public schools. The "charter" establishing each such school is a performance contract detailing the school's mission, program, goals, students served, methods of assessment, and ways to measure success. Since 1991, 41 states and the District of Columbia have signed charter school legislation into law.

 

 

 

3) WYOMING HEALTH BEHAVIORS AND RISKS5

The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance (YRBS) was developed in 1990 to monitor priority health risk behaviors that contribute markedly to the leading causes of death, disability, and social problems among youth and adults (9th to 12th grade) in the U.S. The survey is administered every two years with the most current results published for 2003. Thirty-two states including the District of Columbia participated in the 2003 YRBS.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4) BMI6

The body mass index is a number that shows body weight adjusted for height. BMI can be calculated with simple math using inches and pounds, or meters and kilograms. Currently, only national level data is available for school-aged youth from the 1999-2002 National Health and Nutrition Survey (NHANES).

 

 

 

   5) WYOMING SCHOOL FOOD PROGRAMS & HUNGER7,8  

 

Federal nutrition programs help students succeed in school. Congress enacted the 1946 National School Lunch Act as a "measure of national security, to safeguard the health and well-being of the Nation's children." School Breakfast Program (SBP) was established by Congress, first as a pilot program in 1966 in areas where children had long bus rides to school and then as a permanent entitlement program in 1975 to assist schools in providing nutritious morning meals to the nation's children.