EVANSTON — Feb. 19-23 is School Board Appreciation Week in Wyoming.

This week helps build awareness and understanding of the vital functions our locally elected boards of education play in our community.

Uinta County School District No. 1 is joining public school districts from across the state to celebrate School Board Appreciation Week and honor local board members for their commitment to Evanston and its children.

“Our school system is the backbone of our community, and these men and women devote countless hours to making sure our schools are helping every child,” Superintendent Ryan Thomas said. “There is no greater honor that can be bestowed upon a citizen than membership on a local board of education. They spend countless hours studying the issues and regulations and make the tough decisions when called upon to ensure the type of accountability people expect.”

Thomas said the key work of school boards is to:

• Create a vision for what the community wants the school district to be and for making student achievement the top priority;

• Ensure progress on the district’s goals is measured and students are learning at expected levels;

• Create a safe, orderly climate where students can learn and teachers can teach;

• Form partnerships with others in the community to solve common problems; and

• Focus attention on the need for continuous improvement by questioning, refining and revising issues related to education in the district.

“Our local school board shapes the future of education in Evanston by influencing the high quality of education that our children and youth receive. The Uinta County School District No. 1 school board shows its commitment to educational excellence — and for that we are very grateful for their service.”

The members serving our district and their years of service are: Jenny Welling (13 years), David Bennett (9 years), Christa Weaver (5 years), Caleb Guild (5 years), David Peterson (4 years), Joel Wiedrich (3 years), Dan Wheeler (3 years), Janice Davis (1 year) and Brian Woodward (1 year).