Thirty-nine Kansas high school seniors have been named 2019 Kansas Career and Technical Education (CTE) Scholars, the Kansas State Department of Education announced Tuesday, April 16, 2019.

Kansans Can School Redesign Project helping meet needs of all students

Forty-one schools representing 19 districts across Kansas will take part in Apollo, the fourth phase of the Kansans Can School Redesign Project, the Kansas State Department of Education announced Tuesday, April 16.

The Confidence in Kansas Public Education Task Force has named 185 schools in 98 Kansas public school districts as recipients of the 2018 Challenge Awards.

Challenge encourages employer-supported volunteering

Fourteen Kansas employers have registered for the first Give Back Kansas Challenge. The purpose of the challenge is to engage Kansans in employer-supported volunteering. This statewide challenge runs from April 1 through May 31, 2019.

Nearly half of state’s children qualify for free/reduced-price meals

The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) is looking for sponsors willing to provide nutritious meals to Kansas children during the summer months.

Mercury 7 school principal encourages Kansas schools to take part in Apollo phase of Kansans Can School Redesign Project

This spring semester at Kennedy Elementary School in Wellington Unified School District 353 looks a lot different than the fall semester, said principal Gillian Macias.

“We don’t hear, ‘It’s impossible,’ anymore,” she said. “Instead, we hear, ‘Show me how’ or ‘Let’s work together.’”

Chris Johnston has an extensive background in agriculture. He grew up in Oklahoma where his family ran a cow-calf operation. He even did a stint as a steer wrestler and team roper in professional rodeo.

But he never really saw himself entering the agriscience teaching field until he was convinced to join an intro to agriculture education class at Oklahoma Panhandle State University in Goodwell, Oklahoma.

Challenge encourages employer-supported volunteering

Kansas employers are invited to register for the inaugural Give Back Kansas Challenge and encourage employees to participate in community volunteering. The eight-week challenge will run from April 1 through May 31, 2019, with registration closing March 22 at bit.ly/givebackks.

Olathe USD 233 has two schools taking part in Kansans Can School Redesign

There was a point a few months ago when sixth-grade math teacher Andrea Bowne wasn’t sure about the Kansans Can School Redesign Project. 

The school where Bowne teaches – Santa Fe Trail Middle School in Olathe – was in its first quarter of implementing school redesign. Staff members had spent countless hours in the 2017-2018 school year researching what they wanted their school redesign to look like, visiting with community members and parents, and discussing with other educators how to implement it. Bowne had been in on the process. It took a lot of work. There were tears, disagreements and so many varying opinions. Some of the school’s teachers left. 

The Kansas State Board of Education during its February meeting approved recommendations from the School Mental Health Advisory Council and instructed the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) to take necessary action to put each recommendation into place.