Johnson County was once home to dozens of rural, country schools. Today the county has no rural schools. These are the stories of some of Johnson County's former country school teachers and students.
Buffalo High School junior Nate Rzasa and his teammates Sylas Mirabal and Jager Erschabek sat in front of their computers after school in late March, watching film and breaking down their performances from the previous day’s tough competition.
At Clear Creek Middle School this past Wednesday, roughly 40 seventh and eighth grade students crammed into a classroom off the back hallway and began stacking the room’s tables in front of the locked door.
Most students in Johnson County will have to resume paying for school breakfast and lunch in the 2022-23 school year because the federal waiver that has made those meals free for all students over the past two years is likely coming to an end.
The Johnson County School District No. 1 board of trustees suspended an unnamed employee, with pay, for an indefinite amount of time pending an investigation by the district and the Buffalo Police Department.
The Johnson County School District No. 1 board of trustees is again considering reducing the size of the board from its current nine members to seven — this time primarily due to concerns about recruiting quality members to run for the board.
Once upon a time, in a far-off kingdom, a small village at the edge of the woods took shape in the Buffalo High School auditorium.
Johnson County School District No. 1 is preparing to host active shooter training — known as TAC*ONE training — at all district schools during the week of April 18 for students, staff, parents and law enforcement.
Kaycee School is quickly becoming the literacy powerhouse of Johnson County after the Battling Broncs team — made up of seven third-and-fourth grade students — won the school’s second-straight Battle of the Books title on Thursday.
A K-3 reading assessment and intervention program bill that had originally caused concern about loss of local control for Johnson County School District No. 1 administrators was signed into law Friday by Gov. Mark Gordon.
Delays in the nationwide supply chain could mean that the boiler system in Kaycee School that has caused heating issues in certain areas of the building won’t be replaced this summer as originally planned.
For kids around the county, long bus rides are a daily event that the kids are just used to. For the "long distance riders," as they call themselves, on the French Creek Road bus route, the bus ride includes pocket games, lots of talking with friends and for some, naps with teddy bears. Dan …
New federal training regulations for bus drivers around the country could make recruiting bus drivers in Johnson County even harder — a problem that has plagued the district for years.
The students of Kaycee School are a little more than 45 miles from the nearest community college campus.
Balloons covered the floors of both the library and a classroom in Meadowlark Elementary School on Friday. The kindergarten classes circled around the first set of 100 balloons in the library while next door the pre-kindergartners spread out amongst their own set of 100 balloons. Games were …
Jake Harris typically spends his days taking care of animals or looking for fossilized dinosaur bones on his ranch in eastern Wyoming.
U.S. Sen. John Barrasso’s message to the students of Kaycee School on Thursday was simple.
School resource officers could soon be back in Johnson County schools thanks to federal coronavirus funds that the school district is set to receive.
Last Friday morning’s snowfall wasn’t enough to shut the doors to school buildings in Johnson County for the day. In the event of future snowy and cold days that force the closure of school buildings, however, the schools have a plan in place that could make those days virtual.
A classroom in the elementary school wing of Kaycee School was flooded with an estimated 300 gallons of water on Jan. 6 after a pipe in the building’s fire suppression system burst.
Johnson County School District trustee John Manzella died Dec. 23.
The third-grade performance of the Nutcracker returned again to the auditorium at Buffalo High School as the kids performed their own choral and dance version of the classic play. The event returned for the first time to the stage since COVID began this year, filling the seats of the auditor…
Indoor track athletes will keep running at Buffalo High School this winter season after the Johnson County School District No. 1 board of trustees voted to continue the program.
On Saturday, downtown Buffalo transformed into a Christmas wonderland, filled with markets, a chili feed and an evening parade. And in the run up to the weekend, the Main Street building formerly occupied by The Office was transformed into a pop-up shop by students in the Buffalo High School…
The mini bank, a introductory banking option offered to students at Cloud Peak Elementary School and Clear Creek Middle School, encourages students to learn about banking and how to save money from a young age. The students can deposit money into an account with the help of fellow students, …
Just a short walk from New West High School sits Clear Creek and the Clear Creek Trail — where students and teachers alike were learning about public lands and Leave No Trace principles on Friday.
The students at New West are well into their semester of classes and are settled into the new four day-plus schedule. At Buffalo's newest school, students learn the same material, just in varied and new ways. The students work with fewer staff for direct and personal interactions that keep t…
The days of Johnson County students building snowmen with their friends or drinking hot chocolate on the couch during a snow day may soon be coming to an end.
The Buffalo High School marching band was one of just six bands in the state to receive a Superior rating at Saturday’s state marching band festival.
The Buffalo High School marching band traveled to Casper once again this year to perform in the Wyoming state marching band festival on Saturday, Oct. 16 in the Ford Wyoming Center. After having to perform remotely last year, this was the first state festival in person for both the freshmen …
In honor of White Cane Day, Julie was joined by a few guests to talk with two elementary school classes about white canes and how to interact with classmates, parents, friends and community members who have vision impairments. The canes allow for safer mobility and the students learned to al…
Buffalo's homecoming parade and barbecue returned to normal this year after a year of COVID-19 changes last year. Teams and organizations from the high school rode or marched through downtown during the parade on Main Street. Friends, family, and community members spread along the side of th…
A little over one month into the school year in Johnson County, 4% of students (48) and less than 1% of staff members (less than 12) are currently identified as absent due to a positive coronavirus case or a close contact quarantine.
Buffalo High School hosted their annual marching showcase on Oct. 5 on the football field. The show allowed bands from around the region to perform their shows for an audience and receive critiques and feedback in anticipation of the state festival in mid-October.
Johnson County School District No. 1 is slowly expending its portion of federal stimulus money approved in December 2020 to help school districts around the country prevent, prepare for and respond to the coronavirus pandemic.
As Johnson County students head back to school, parents and administrators are again gearing up to help tackle the problem of e-cigarette use by teenagers both in and out of school buildings.
Kaycee High School hosted their annual high school graduation again this year, back to the regular traditions after last year's COVID changes. The 12 graduating seniors are headed all over the country in the near future but for now they celebrated together in the gym, surrounded by friends, …
Buffalo High School's theater department put on their annual spring play, this year's being an original titled "Turns out Polyester was the Root of it All: A Spade Malloy Mystery." The play referenced a previous performance, resurrecting the character of Spade Malloy in this mystery that com…
When the final school bell rang on Friday afternoon, educators around Johnson County breathed a collective sigh of relief, having successfully made it through the 2020-21 school year in person.
Buffalo High School's rodeo team hosted their spring rodeo for competitors across the region on Sunday and Monday, May 30-31. The full weekend followed Sheridan's rodeo also at the Johnson County Fairgrounds as the competitors worked through their individual and team events in anticipation o…
Meadowlark Elementary School held their end of year assembly on the playground under the warm sun as they celebrated the end of the 2020-21 school year. Beginning the year with masks and social distancing, the kids now crowded together with visible faces after more than a month of learning w…
Students from Buffalo High School and Kaycee High School recently trekked to Casper for the largest high school art exhibition in the country.
Cloud Peak Elementary school hosted their annual spring Healthy Me Day, putting in some last minute fun and education with their students. The full day rotated the classes between a variety of acitivies ranging from fun games like tug-a-war and kickball to tips on how to stay safe in the sun…
The average height in Meadowlark Elementary school jumped up on Wednesday, May 26 as parents joined their kids for a parent BBQ at the school. Kids and parents cycled through the gym as they received their trays of food to take back with them to their classrooms. Burgers were grilled out sid…
With warm weather back and the end of the year winding down, Meadowlark took their kids out to the YMCA track field for their regular spring Field Day. The classes were spread out around the field, balancing a combination of fun games and track-themed events like running, jumping and tennis …
After having to delay and reorganize last year's school year and graduation because of COVID-19, this year's graduation ceremony felt like a breath of normal. The ceremony was returned indoors to the gym as Buffalo celebrated 52 graduating seniors on Sunday, May 23, 2021. Speeches were given…
New West High School held their first every graduation ceremony on Friday night, May 21, 2021 in the Buffalo High School Auditorium. Each student in the class of 17 students was recognized individually and introduced to the audience by a teacher or family member. Stories of childhood and of …
Buffalo High School hosted their annual spring choir concert on Thursday, May 13 for community members and families alike who joined the four school choirs for a variety of musical performances. The four choirs, the Balladiers, Men's Choir, Una Voce, and Bella Voce performed for a fuller aud…
The gymnasium at Cloud Peak Elementary School was transformed the evening of May 11 into a science lab even Bill Nye would be proud of.
Even though the Johnson County School District’s fiscal year 2022 budget has been approved, and the thick of budget season is in the rearview mirror for business manager Tom Sarvey, his concerns over the future of education funding in Wyoming remain.
Two Buffalo High School seniors walked out of the school’s auditorium Thursday afternoon with a special memento from U.S. Sen. John Barrasso.
