A Powell Middle School teacher’s proposal to allow high performing students to begin accumulating credits for the state’s highest levels of Hathaway Scholarships prior to entering high school has won the approval of the Wyoming Legislature.
Changes to expand the Hathaway Scholarship Program’s “success curriculum” to challenge and reward middle schoolers were contained in House Bill 120, sponsored by Rep. Jamie Flitner, R-Greybull. The bill passed the House of Representatives 53-7, and the State Senate gave it unanimous 30-0 approval Friday. It was co-sponsored by Sen. R.J. Kost, R-Powell.
Flitner said the legislation originated with outgoing Powell Middle School computer science teacher Zac Opps and “must certainly be the process envisioned by our Founding Fathers.”
“The idea began with Mr. Opps and a group of his super students,” she said. “The thought of allowing middle schoolers to begin earning Hathaway credits in all subject matter met with little resistance.”
“Most see this as an opportunity and challenge for our best and brightest,” Flitner added. “Why hold any student back who might be ready for more?”
Opps had approached Flitner and former Powell lawmaker David Northrup, then chairman of the House Education Committee, a year ago, suggesting the change to allow earning more Hathaway credits in middle school. But because it was a budget session, the legislators didn’t feel it was the right time to tackle it.
“When Mr. Opps reached out again this fall, I had to proceed,” Flitner said. “I reached out to Sen. Kost for his help and co-sponsorship. R.J. was perfect help due to his administrative and educational background.”
Opps was in Cheyenne to help present the bill to both House and Senate committees. Opps is presently only teaching part-time at PMS and will depart the district at the end of the year to take a job in the nonprofit sector, with a company providing technology systems to schools.
Originally, only math and foreign language were approved for seventh and eighth grade students to achieve Hathaway Scholarship credits; career and technical education was added later.
Opps said he was motivated, along with his students, to increase the options available to middle schoolers.
“If you feel something can improve, it’s your duty as a citizen to improve it,” he said.
Kost, a former curriculum coordinator in the Powell schools before entering the Legislature, was fully on board with the effort.
“I never could understand why only math and foreign language were approved,” he said. “For students who are academically advanced, the approval of this bill allows for concurrent and dual credits to be obtained earlier in their career, and the students will have opportunities which were not there before.”
Park County School District 1 Superintendent Jay Curtis agreed.
“This will put middle school students one step ahead of the game,” he said.
The state-funded Hathaway Scholarships are available to Wyoming students to attend either the University of Wyoming or the state’s community colleges. Attainment in the success curriculum governs awards in the Honors and Performance categories of the Hathaway Scholarships. Recipients at the Honors level qualify for a Hathaway Scholarship of $1,680 per semester for four years; the Performance level scholarship awards $1,260 per semester.
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March 30, 2021 at 09:20PM
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Legislature clears way for earning scholarship credits in middle school - Powell Tribune
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