West Side Elementary School

Worland Adventist Christian School has a forty-four year history in this community, with classes first opening in 1969. It has educated both me and my three children. Test scores have been remarkable, and my young adults are now honors students in college. I especially recommend this school for parents with home-school preference who are seeking a slightly broader social base. WACS still provides a base of Christian values and Biblical learning along with a rigorous core curriculum. Small classrooms provide great teacher-student ratios and the same personal attention of the homeschool environment, while broadening the social base to peers outside the immediate family group. Multi-grade classrooms provide excellent peer-learning opportunities which have been shown in studies to give kids a HUGE educational advantage, especially in reading, writing and math skills. This school has great support system and is an accredited part of a school system which is the second-largest private faith-based system in the world. Along with it's accredited curriculum, the school offers standardized testing measurements and other ways of helping students and parents assess learning needs.

Although I recognize that public schools are obligated to rely on standardized testing for state and national funding, I feel that the smaller class sizes in this school (and in WY, in general) should offer children more opportunity for actual learning. Unfortunately, it seems that testing is the goal of the curriculum even in these rural facilities. South Side has some truly amazing teachers, but they are bound by state requirements that do not support individual growth or encourage creative learning for the children. There are no programs for the advanced students, and inadequate support for special needs kids.