Inaugural L³ Summit Unites Over 450 Education Leaders to Bring Literacy Policy into Classroom Practice

CHEYENNE - The inaugural Wyoming Department of Education's (WDE) L³ Summit: Embracing Leadership, Language, and Literacy concluded last week, drawing 453 educators, administrators, and literacy champions from every corner of the state. Wyoming's Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) Grant, the state's largest federally funded language and literacy initiative, supported two June convenings designed to strengthen statewide language and literacy implementation.

These efforts align with State Superintendent Megan Degenfelder's focus on ensuring every Wyoming student has access to high-quality educational opportunities supported by strong leadership, effective instruction, and sustainable systems. Following the passage of Senate File 0059, the Wyoming Language and Literacy Act, the summit marked Wyoming's efforts to activate statewide implementation of the Science of Reading. To support this transition, the WDE has also advanced emergency rules to Governor Mark Gordon for approval and is submitting regular rules shortly for further public comment.

"Literacy is the foundation of a student's future, and without it, nothing else matters. In Wyoming, we will not allow another student to fall through the cracks," said Superintendent Degenfelder. "The passage of SF0059 provides the systemic levers to impact every child. But legislative mandates don't teach a child to read; our educators do. Together, we will make permanent the practices that empower our education leaders to ensure literacy for all Wyoming students."

A central theme of the conference was the interconnectedness of the three Ls: Leadership creates sustainable systems, Language builds the vital foundation, and Literacy ultimately unlocks the future. The summit also emphasized a holistic approach to education by highlighting the need to bridge regional silos and build active, lasting literacy partnerships with parents and caregivers at home.

"L3 ensures that the bridge between state policy and the daily classroom is a reality. This conference is so profound in that we have a state-wide CLSD team to make language and literacy the foundation of all that we do in our public schools and communities," said Deidre Meyer, Fremont County School District #1 Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment, & Accountability Director

As the summit concluded, Wyoming's education leaders departed not just with notes, but with concrete, localized action plans ready for deployment in the upcoming school year.

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