Andrea E. Gilbertson

Shoshoni Elementary School
Fremont County School District #24
Shoshoni, Wyoming
agilbertson@fremont24.com

Andrea Gilbertson has served Shoshoni Elementary School in rural Wyoming for six years, where she has overseen tremendous growth in the school’s early childhood education offerings, laying strong foundations for academic, social, and emotional growth. Under her leadership, Shoshoni has become home to a dedicated transitional kindergarten program, a full-time daycare program for Shoshoni staff, and an early learning center offering full-day, week-long pre-K. These new and expanded programs have accelerated kindergarten-readiness while offering flexibility and support for Shoshoni families whose work schedules and rural location can make it difficult to accommodate part-time learning. Shoshoni’s early learning vision and purpose have also transformed with Gilbertson at the helm, emphasizing play-based learning that cultivates creativity, curiosity, and problem solving, while using data to differentiate activities to target each child’s particular developmental needs. To build strong foundations in emotional regulation, social connection, and empathy, Gilbertson has also taken steps to integrate services traditionally associated with special education into early learning at Shoshoni, including occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech-language pathology, and SEL. Gilbertson also took the bold step of transitioning the school to a universal team teaching model, leveraging her staff’s diverse expertise to deliver a rich and dynamic educational experience for every student. Gilbertson holds an M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Wyoming and B.S. degrees in Special and Elementary Education from Pace University.