More than half of Wyoming's industrial arts teachers will be eligible for retirement in the next five years.

In answer to this and other possible shortages, the Natrona County School District and BOCES decided recently to continue funding the University of Wyoming/Casper College Center's technical and secondary science education programs for another three years.

These programs allow students to become certified teachers without transferring to Laramie's campus, creating a larger pool of instructors for Wyoming's schools, said Brent Pickett, UW/CC Center's associate dean and director.

BOCES, the local Board of Cooperative Educational Services, began funding an elementary education program for the UW/CC Center in 1990. The program now has 152 students enrolled and is able to survive independently of BOCES funding. Pickett hopes the other two programs will perform similarly.

"If we have good recruitment for the technical education program BOCES will continue funding up until 2010," Pickett said.

Pickett hopes the University will permanently fund the degrees if the programs can show stable enrollment.

One sixth of UW's College of Education graduates came from the UW/CC Center over the past three years, and Pickett sees only a rise in the proportion as these programs continue to grow.

There are eight students in the technical education program, and Pickett wants to see 12 in the fall of 2008 to stay on track.

This fiscal year BOCES will give the secondary science program $100,000 and the technical education program $80,000.

Joel Dvorak, associate superintendent for curriculum and instruction for the school district, said in a news release that the partnership between the UW/CC Center, BOCES and the school district is "continuing to flourish."

"I hope the partnership continues to grow, and that the provided seed money continues to grow programs to fuel innovation and education in Natrona County."

Reach Christine Robinson at (307) 266-0639 or christine.robinson@casperstartribune.net