GOSHEN COUNTY – Torrington High School was one of only seven school districts across the state to increase its overall rating by two points last year, according to recently released information from the Wyoming Department of Education.
The WDE released annual school performance ratings Thursday, which showed the majority of Wyoming schools are “Meeting” or “Exceeding Expectations.” The report goes on to say the number of schools “Not Meeting Expectations” is decreasing state-wide – as is the case with Torrington High School.
THS earned a “Not Meeting Expectations” designation overall in 2015-16. The school was below targets in graduation rate and academic achievement, meeting targets in additional readiness and academic growth, and exceeding targets in equity.
In 2015-16, Southeast High School was “Meeting Expectations” overall and exceeding targets in overall readiness, including graduation rate and additional readiness. In academic performance, the school was below targets in equity, exceeding in achievement and meeting targets in growth.
This same year, Lingle-Fort Laramie High School was also designated as “Meeting Expectations.” L-FL exceeded targets in graduation rate and equity, and met targets in additional readiness, academic achievement and growth.
During the 2016-17 school year, all three Goshen County high schools were “Meeting Expectations” as a whole. THS saw improvements in graduation rate (now meeting targets), which bumped the school up two levels: from not meeting, beyond partially meeting, to meeting expectations.

“At Torrington High School we have high expectations for our staff and students,” Principal Cedric Cooper said. Cooper took over as principal ahead of the 2015-16 school year. “We love our students and work hard to provide enthusiasm within our building. We promoted showing students we believed more in them than they believed in themselves until they began to believe it, too. There is no secret to the growth that we are experiencing at THS. Every morning we make it a point to greet our students as they enter the building with a smile and a ‘Good morning’.
“The staff created a new mission statement that states, ‘THS is committed to student success through academics, citizenship and activities,’” Cooper continued. “This is what drives our daily work as a school. The staff continues to work hard to ensure that all students are working to meet proficiency on all district-wide common assessments. We are working to create experiences for our students to prepare them for their future as college- or career-ready students. We know that all of our students are brilliant and unique in their own way.”
According to a WDE press release, THS is one of seven schools in the state to raise its performance rating by two, also including Burlington Middle School in Big Horn No. 1, Glenrock Middle School in Converse No. 2, Laramie No. 1’s Davis Elementary, Desert Middle School in Sweetwater No. 1, Harrison Elementary in Sweetwater No. 2, and Laramie No. 1’s Central High School.
“We have set the bar high at THS, and our students are rising to the occasion,” Cooper said. “The staff has invested a tremendous amount of time, and they are dedicated to the work involved in helping our students be successful. We continue to encourage our students to take upper-level courses to prepare them for rigors of the ACT. We have days that we will practice for the ACT prior to taking the test in April. Through this experience we have intervention set up for students to help them grasp a better understanding of the content that is presented on the test. We also really emphasize teamwork, and getting our community involved within our school setting. A big ‘thank you’ to staff, students, and parents for their dedication and commitment of creating a positive learning environment for students.”
THS held an assembly Friday morning to celebrate the improved performance rating.
Additionally, in 2015-16, all GCSD No.1 elementary and middle schools were meeting expectations, with the exception of L-FL Middle School and Torrington Middle School – both were below targets in achievement and considered “Partially Meeting Expectations”.
During the last academic year, L-FL improved to meeting expectations and TMS remained “Partially Meeting Expectations”. In 2016-17, all other elementary and middle schools were designated as “Meeting Expectations”.
Statewide, in 2016-17, 147 out of 337 schools were “Meeting Expectations”, with 90 “Partially Meeting Expectations”.
Under the Wyoming Accountability in Education Act, schools serving grades 3-8 are rated on achievement, growth, and equity indicators. Indicators for high schools also include graduation rates, ninth-grade credits earned, and Hathaway Scholarship eligibility.
For more information, visit http://fusion.edu.wyoming.gov/.