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TOPEKA — Education Commissioner Dr. Randy Watson has announced Kansas literacy rates continue to improve with fewer students scoring in Level 1 on the spring 2024 reading state assessments, marking a second straight year that number has decreased.
“This is good news as one of the state board of education’s goals is to move more Kansas students out of the lowest level of reading,” Watson said. “While the decrease in Level 1 reading results is slight, this is the second year in a row that measure has improved, which tells us we’re on the right track. We expect these results will continue to improve as more teachers transition to structured literacy.”
The Oct. 3 edition of KSDEweekly is now available. Read more about the 2025 Kansas Teacher of the Year, how a Custodians are Key contest finalist improves his school's environment beyond custodial work, and what the Kansas State Board of Education will be discussing during their October meeting. There are also a number of final reminders for some important programs, including the Kansas Horizon Award. Be sure to check the calendar for upcoming deadlines and training opportunities.
Click here to get KSDEweekly sent directly to your inbox. Email ksdeweekly@ksde.org with questions, comments or story ideas.
Ms. Anstine: “Deliberate reflection is a fundamental principle of my teaching philosophy.”
WICHITA – Elizabeth Anstine, a business teacher at Leavenworth High School, Leavenworth Unified School District 453, was named the 2025 Kansas Teacher of the Year on Saturday, Sept. 28, during a special ceremony in Wichita.
The Sept. 26 edition of KSDEweekly is now available. Read more about the four Kansas schools selected as 2024 National Blue Ribbon schools, the Kansas Math Project offering professional development, preschool teachers invited to learn more about creating standards-based activities for their students and techincal assistance offered for navigating the individual plan of study (IPS) process.
Click here to subscribe and get KSDEweekly sent directly to your inbox. Email ksdeweekly@ksde.org with questions.
Members of the Kansas State Board of Education will meet for their monthly meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 8, and Wednesday, Oct. 9, in the first floor board room of the Landon State Office Building, 900 S.W. Jackson, in Topeka.
Click here for the meeting's agenda and materials.
TOPEKA — Four Kansas elementary schools have been named 2024 National Blue Ribbon Schools, U.S. Secretary of Education Dr. Miguel Cardona announced Monday, Sept. 23.
There are 356 schools across the country that are part of this year’s National Blue Ribbon cohort, including the following in Kansas, recognized in the Exemplary High Performing Schools category:
The Sept.19 edition of the KSDEweekly newsletter is now available. Read more about a Clay County Community High School senior who is working to make sure her peers know they matter, information about the national virtual summit on K-12 school safety and security, the nomination packet for the 2026 Kansas Teacher of the Year and much more.
Click here to get KSDEweekly sent directly to your inbox on Thursdays. Email ksdeweekly@ksde.org with questions.
The Sept. 12 KSDEweekly newsletter is now available. Read more about updates to the at-risk program list, pilot districts and timeline for districts' accountability plans. You can also read more about the progress the Blue-Ribbon Task Force on Student Screen Time is making, the KSDE proposed budgets for FY25 and FY26, ESSER reporting and McKinney-Vento trainings. The nomination packet is also available for the 2026 Kansas Teacher of the Year.
The Sept. 5 KSDEweekly newsletter is now available. Read more about updates to the literacy licensure requirement, Zoom sessions available to districts preparing for the official student Count Day of Sept. 20, a school mental health professional development opportunity and much more.
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Denise Kahler (785) 296-4876 dkahler@ksde.org
The Kansas State Department of Education does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, or age in its programs and activities. (more information...)
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