The UW Lab School has been a beloved institution in the Laramie community for 137 years. Originally started by the University of Wyoming in 1887 as a school to provide college preparation courses to the widely spread out territorial population, the Lab School has gone through several names and evolutions during its lifetime. Today the school is a K-8 public school operated by Albany County School District 1 in a UW-owned building. For decades, Lab School teachers have used hands-on, project and experience-based teaching methods to fully immerse students in the content they're learning, as opposed to the textbooks, videos, and lectures used in more traditional schools. This is why parents go out of their way to enroll their students in the Lab School - they thoroughly research the schools available in the Laramie region and feel their children can learn best in the distinctly unique environment the Lab School offers.

Unfortunately, the university and the school district have been unable to reach an agreement to keep the school operating on the university campus, and if they cannot agree to the terms of a one year agreement, or if a new location is not found within that one year, closing down after serving Albany County for six generations is an unwelcome possibility.

We, the Lab School community, stand united in support of our school and call on the University of Wyoming and Albany County School District 1 to communicate, collaborate, and work together to ensure we can stay open for generations to come! Losing the Lab School would be devastating for Laramie, both historically and for the many students who are unable to succeed in a larger, more conventional school, and as such maintaining this institution's existence must be a top priority for everybody involved in deciding our future!

(Photograph circa 1907, located in UW's American Heritage Center)