Best School District (Cheyenne, Casper, Laramie: renting, university, income)

[ksriebe070809]

We have been thinking of moving and Wyoming has come up a few times. We currently live in Las Vegas and HATE it. I think we don't like it because we have 3 young kids and let's face it...Vegas is the adult playground for a reason. Our oldest was diagnosed with Autism back in Feb of this year and right now he is in a program through the local school district.

My husband and I are used to cold weather I was born and raised in NE Ohio and he grew up in Ohio but is from Texas. We have also both lived in the south and do not want to move back down that way. We are wanting a place where education is important and just somewhere family friendly. We are going to be renting at first and we have a business that is internet based so jobs will not be a problem.

I am open to any and all input please. Thank you in advance!!!

[Wyomama2]

Go on greatschools.net you may find some info on there. I assume finding a place for your autistic child is first and foremost. I would think the bigger cities would be best for that, Cheyenne or Casper. Maybe look into Jackson too.

[ksriebe070809]

Thank you...I will check out those places and that website sometime today. I know that there are about 10 states I have checked into so far that have programs like the one out here in Vegas through the various school districts but I will definitely look up Wyoming more.

[WyoNewk]

I agree that the larger school districts would be your best bet for special needs kids. I'm not involved in education (although my wife was for 15 years), but I think any of the several larger school districts would probably work for you. Wyoming schools are all well-funded thanks to the state's mineral extraction industries, and rather than counties keeping the majority of that tax income as in decades past, the revenue goes to the state which then spreads it more evenly among the counties for their schools.

Wyoming's largest school districts, from 2010 enrollments, are:
Cheyenne (Laramie County) 13,171
Casper (Natrona County) 11,772
Gillette (Campbell County) 8,301
Rock Springs (Sweetwater County #1) 5,159
Laramie (Albany County) 3,587
Sheridan (Sheridan County #2) 3,161
Evanston (Uinta County) 2,925

And they trail down from there.

That's not to say smaller districts couldn't meet your needs, but this gives you a place to start. Educators on this forum, and there are a few, might give you better information.

[ksriebe070809]

Thank you so much for the information. I will make sure to check out all those school districts.

[tigergal]

I haven't been in Wyoming very long to have an opinion on that front. However, I've worked in educational research for years. As a general rule, school districts in university towns tend to have better services for kids with special needs. Often, the College of Education at the university is directly involved with the district in programming and hands-on work with the kids. In this case, Albany County would be worth a good look.

[jody_wy]

We had alot of Families move to Star Valley from Utah just because of the school program here for special need kids.

[tigergal]

Originally Posted by jody_wy

We had alot of Families move to Star Valley from Utah just because of the school program here for special need kids.

I certainly wasn't saying other school districts weren't exceptional. I was simply speaking from my professional experience regarding a college of education as an excellent local resource for school districts.