Community Characteristics
Star Valley is a Wyoming mountain valley about 10-15 miles wide and
approximately 45 miles long, running north and south along the
Wyoming-Idaho border. The valley is bordered on the west by the
Caribou and Webster mountain ranges and on the east by the
Salt River Range.
The valley floor elevation ranges from 5,600 at the north end to above 7,000 feet at the south end.
Thus, locals refer to the northern part of the valley as the ‘Lower
Valley,’ and the southern part as the ‘Upper Valley.’
The Upper and Lower Valleys are joined by a narrow fault in the rock
formation known as the Narrows. The Salt River runs through the
Narrows joining the Snake and Greys Rivers to form Palisades
Reservoir near Alpine, Wyoming.
Star Valley is known for its long winters and heavy snowfall. Because
of the shelter offered by the surrounding mountains, winter
wind is not usually a problem, although temperatures as low as
30 degrees below zero are not uncommon. Winter weather usually
lasts from late fall to early spring and creates a very short
growing season of about 50 days.
The population centers are spread out from Alpine on the north approximately 42 miles south to Smoot
Between Alpine and Smoot are the communities of Etna, Freedom,
Thayne, Bedford, Turnerville, Auburn, Grover, Afton, Fairview
and Osmond. The most dense population center is right in the
town of Afton with approximately 1,840 residents.
Star Valley’s population for 2005 is estimated to be 11,580.
Population is estimated to be growing at about 4.6% a year. As
one would expect, Star Valley’s student population has also
been on the increase for the last three years. 2005 saw a 5%
increase in student population in Star Valley. If the continued
rate of growth continues. Star Valley’s population is expected
to be over 13,862 by 2009 which will also translate into more
students attending school at Star Valley High School.
Student Characteristics
The SVHS student body is growing due to an extra large ninth grade
class this year. The junior class is considerably smaller than
the other three classes.
SVHS’ student population is 46.8% female and 53.2% male. This is
quite a change from last year when the student body was nearly
equally divided.
The student population is overwhelmingly white which accounts for
97.14 %. The next largest ethnic group is Hispanic which
accounts for 1.5% of the student population.
The percentage of student considered economically disadvantaged, a statistic based on free and reduced lunch, is 20.4%
Staff Characteristics
SVHS’ teaching staff is more male than female however not significantly so.
SVHS’ staff is an older staff, with 58% being age 40 or older. In addition, 27% are age 50 or older.
Only 25% of the teaching staff has a Master’s degree. A full
three-fourths have obtained only their Bachelor’s degree. This
is due in part to the rural nature of Star Valley and the
difficulties that presents in furthering one’s education.
55% of the teaching staff has taught 15 years or less. 22% of the
staff has taught 5 years or less. On the other end of the
spectrum, 16% have taught more than 25 years.
38% of the teaching staff has been in LCSD #2 5 years or less. In
addition to the large number of staff new to LCSD #2, there are
also 18 of the teaching staff, or 33%, who have been in the
district more than 15 years. It is a good balance between old
and new.