The Kansas State Board of Education approved 71 schools in 30 districts to launch their Kansans Can School Redesign Project plans during the 2019-2020 school year.

The schools/ districts were announced Tuesday, July 9, during a Kansas State Board of Education meeting. The schools/districts are a mix of Gemini I and Gemini II schools that applied to be a part of the Kansans Can School Redesign Project.

Gemini I schools applied to be a part of the project prior to the 2017-2018 school year, and upon acceptance, were given the option of planning for one year or two years prior to launching. Gemini I schools cleared for launch during the upcoming school year chose to take two years to plan before launching.

The Gemini II schools applied and were accepted into the project prior to the 2018-2019 school year and were given one year to plan prior to launching.

Districts and schools approved to launch their Kansans Can School Redesign Project plans during the 2019-2020 school year are:

Andover Unified School District 385
•    Cottonwood Elementary School
•    Meadowlark Elementary School
•    Robert Martin Elementary School
•    Andover Central Middle School
Basehor-Linwood USD 458
•    Basehor Elementary School, K-2
•    Basehor Intermediate School
•    Basehor-Linwood High School
Caldwell USD 360
•    Caldwell Elementary School
•    Caldwell Secondary School
Canton-Galva USD 419
•    Canton-Galva Elementary School
Cedar Vale USD 285
•    Cedar Vale Elementary School
•    Cedar Vale Memorial High School
Chaparral USD 361
•    Chaparral Junior-Senior High School
Clay County USD 379
•    Garfield Elementary School
•    Clay Center Community High School
•    Wakefield Elementary School
•    Wakefield High School
Hillsboro USD 410
•    Hillsboro Elementary School
•    Hillsboro Middle-High School
Emporia USD 253
•    William Allen White Elementary School
Fredonia USD 484
•    Lincoln Elementary School
•    Fredonia Junior-Senior High School
Halstead Bentley USD 440
•    Halstead High School
•    Halstead Middle School
Haven USD 312
•    Haven High School
•    Haven Grade School
•    Yoder Charter School
Haviland USD 474
•    Haviland Grade School, K-8
Kingman-Norwich USD 331
•    Kingman Elementary School
•    Kingman Middle School
Lakin USD 215
•    Lakin Grade School
•    Lakin Middle School
•    Lakin High School
Leavenworth USD 453
•    David Brewer Elementary School
•    Leavenworth High School
Liberal USD 480
•    Seymour Rogers Middle School
•    Eisenhower Middle School
Little River-Windom USD 444
•    Windom Elementary School
•    Little River Junior-Senior High School
Lyons USD 405
•    Central Elementary School
•    Park Elementary School
•    Lyons Middle School
Neodesha USD 461
•    North Lawn Elementary School
•    Heller Elementary School
•    Neodesha Middle-High School
Newton USD 373
•    Slate Creek Elementary School
•    Chisholm Middle School
North Lyon County USD 251
•    North Lyon County Elementary School
•    Northern Heights High School
Osawatomie USD 367
•    Swenson Early Childhood Education Center
•    Trojan Elementary School
•    Osawatomie Middle School
Ottawa USD 290
•    Garfield Elementary School
•    Lincoln Elementary School
•    Sunflower Elementary School
•    Ottawa Middle School
•    Ottawa High School
Peabody-Burns USD 398
•    Peabody-Burns Elementary School
•    Peabody-Burns Middle School
Remington-Whitewater USD 206
•    Remington Elementary School
•    Remington Middle School
•    Remington High School
Renwick USD 267
•    Colwich Elementary School
•    Garden Plain High School
Spring Hill USD 230
•    Prairie Creek Elementary School
•    Spring Hill High School
Wichita USD 259
•    Cessna Elementary School
•    Chester Lewis Academic Learning Center
Winfield USD 465
•    Irving Elementary School
•    Country View Elementary School
•    Winfield Middle School

The board received recommendations from the Accreditation Review Council (ARC) for Kansas Education Systems Accreditation (KESA). The ARC met in April and June of this year to review eight public and 14 private systems. 

The public systems are Nemaha Central USD 115; Humboldt USD 258; Prairie View USD 362; Andover USD 385; Douglass USD 396; Great Bend USD 428; Abilene USD 435; and Fredonia USD 484.

The ARC recommended that all public systems be accredited.

The private systems are Holy Cross Lutheran; Zion Lutheran; Sacred Heart, Ottawa; Saint Gregory; Holy Trinity, Paola; Saint Benedict; Xavier; Ascension Catholic School; Christ the King, Topeka; Saint Matthew; Holy Trinity, Lenexa; Nativity Parish; Saint Joseph, Shawnee; and Prince of Peace.

The ARC recommended that all private systems but Zion Lutheran be accredited. The ARC recommended that Zion Lutheran move to a 2022 evaluation year in the accreditation cycle in order to address areas for improvement. The school will remain accredited under Quality Performance Accreditation (QPA) until that time.

This was a receive item only in July. Voting on the ARC’s recommendations is scheduled to take place in August.

State Board of Education members honored Dyane Smokorowski, a prekindergarten through 12th-grade technology and innovation lead teacher at Andover USD 385 and the 2013 Kansas Teacher of the Year. Smokorowski was inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame in June. She is a veteran educator of 21 years and is passionate about using technology to make connections and bring the outside world into the classroom so students can experience authentic learning opportunities.

The National Teachers Hall of Fame is located in Emporia and seeks to recognize and honor exceptional career teachers, encourage excellence in teaching and preserve the rich heritage of the teaching profession in the United States.

Smokorowski was the 12th Kansas teacher inducted into the Teachers Hall of Fame since its establishment in 1989.

KSDE’s Mark Thompson, an education program consultant for the Career, Standards and Assessment Services team, gave board members an update on the vaping/e-cigarettes task force. The board in June voted to accept the general recommendations of the work group and requested monthly updates.

The task force had a conference call June 26, Thompson said. Participants included representatives from Holton USD 336, Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Kansas Health Institute, Kansas Association of School Boards, Kansas-National Education Association (KNEA), American Lung Association, Tobacco Free Kansas Coalition, State Board of Education, Kansas School Nurse Organization, Kansas Department of Revenue, Kansas Attorney General’s Office, a parent and KSDE.

Additional task force members are being sought from the governor’s office, K-12 students, medical professionals and the Kansas High School Activities Association (KSHSAA).

The task force decided to initially have bi-weekly calls/meetings. The first face-to-face meeting will take place Monday, July 15.

The task force would like to have information to provide to schools by the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year.

KSDE and KDHE, along with other partners, will work together to distribute the Vape-Free Schools Toolkit, both in paper format and via a web link, Thompson said. The task force suggested forming the following subgroups: state policy; awareness; education; web-based central hub; modification of health standards; and regulation and enforcement.

KSDE’s Mischel Miller, director of Teacher Licensure and Accreditation, presented Kansas educator preparation program standards for driver education.

KSDE in March 2018 brought together a committee, including teachers from all grade levels and board districts, as well as representatives of business and industry and postsecondary education agencies, to draft model ninth- through 12th-grade Kansas educator preparation program standards for driver education. The group developed draft standards, and that is what was presented to the board.

Board members are slated to take action on the draft standards in August.

Miller also gave board members a presentation on the processes used for board/committee/council memberships affiliated with TLA, which include the Professional Standards Board, Licensure Review Committee, Teacher Vacancy and Supply Committee, Professional Practices Commission, Accreditation Advisory Council and Accreditation Review Council.

The board approved four new appointments to the Professional Standards Board effective July 1, 2019, through June 30, 2022.

Deputy Commissioner Dale Dennis spoke to the board about fiscal year 2021 budget options. Board members supported the budget with the additional funding passed by the Kansas Legislature and approved by the Kansas Supreme Court earlier this year.

Max Kuhlmann, a 2018-2019 sixth-grade student from Wanamaker Elementary School, Auburn-Washburn USD 437, on Wednesday, July 10, shared his National History Day performance, “How the Tragedy of the Apollo 1 Fire Led to the Great Triumph of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing,” with board members. Max won the Discovery and Exploration Award for his project, in which he portrays President John F. Kennedy, astronaut Gus Grissom, a NASA engineer and an average American citizen.

KSDE’s Stacy Smith and Natalie Clark presented an update on Career and Technical Education (CTE) pathway reviews.

There are 3,234 state-approved pathways in seven Career Fields, and 11,700 students enrolled in Excel in CTE courses.

There have been modifications to these career pathways – Architecture and Construction; Business Finance; Education and Training; and Health Science.

The board also received information on workforce readiness initiatives and learned about the next steps the Kansas State Department of Education will take for Perkins V. The state plan is slated to be presented to the State Board of Education in January 2020, and then submitted to Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly in February.  

Board members approved regular meeting dates for 2020 and 2021. The board meetings take place the second Tuesday and Wednesday of every month.

Board dates for 2020 are: Jan. 14-15; Feb. 11-12; March 10-11; April 14-15; May 12-13; June 9-10; July 14-15; Aug. 11-12; Sept. 8-9; Oct. 13-14; Nov. 10; and Dec. 8-9. The November 2020 meeting will only be one day because of Veterans Day, which is a state holiday.

Board dates for 2021 are: Jan. 12-13; Feb. 9-10; March 9-10; April 13-14; May 11-12; June 8-9; July 13-14; Aug. 10-11; Sept. 14-15; Oct. 12-13; Nov. 9-10; and Dec. 14-15.

The next State Board of Education meeting will be Aug. 13-14 at the Landon State Office Building, 900 S.W. Jackson.