TWO DEGREES AT ONCE: GRADUATING DIPLOMA+

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TWO DEGREES AT ONCE: GRADUATING DIPLOMA+
SUMMER 2015

TWO DEGREES
AT ONCE:
GRADUATING
DIPLOMA+©
CLASSES BEGIN
AUGUST 10 FOR MOST
KCKPS STUDENTS
THREE DISTRICT
SENIORS NAMED GATES
MILLENNIUM SCHOLARS

               2010 N. 59th St., Kansas City, KS 66104
               Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools

                                                         EDUCATION CONNECTION — SUMMER 2015   1
TWO DEGREES AT ONCE: GRADUATING DIPLOMA+
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TWO DEGREES AT ONCE: GRADUATING DIPLOMA+
MESSAGE FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT
                                  Welcome                 continue to explore, read, write and speak to and
                                                          about various careers, as they research and consider
                                  to the Back             what they might want to become when they grow up.
                                                          Activities for leadership and exploration are embed-
                                  to School               ded throughout the curriculum.
                                  Edition of                Beginning in 6th grade, our students visit college
                                                          campuses, the Technical Education Center, and
                                  Education               businesses and industries throughout the metro area.
                                                          As our students move through middle school, they
                                  Connection,             complete career interest inventories and participate in
                                    a newsmagazine        “Career Jumping,” which affords students the
                                    designed to           chance to interview professionals from a wide
                                    inform our            variety of careers.
                                    community about         High school is when we transform dreams into
                                    the activities and    actionable plans, as students select broad career
                                    accomplishments       pathways and academies focused on careers such
                                    of the Kansas City,   as engineering, the arts, science, technology, public
   Dr. Cynthia Lane                 Kansas Public
 Superintendent of Schools                                service and health care. College and industry visits
                                    Schools (KCKPS).      continue, aligned to students’ declared interests and
 In each edition, readers can expect to learn about the   talents. Deliberate focus turns to the ACT college
 special accomplishments of our students and schools.     entrance exam, to ensure students will be eligible for
 We imagine that the stories of our outstanding           college admittance and scholarships.
 students will inspire you, and leave you excited about
 the future of the district, and our students.
                                                          Letters of Commitment
 Graduating Students Diploma+©                            for Students
    In past editions of Education Connection, I have        New this year, colleges, universities and technical
 shared our goal that, “each student will exit high       schools across Kansas and Missouri are partnering
 school prepared for college and careers in a global      with KCKPS to offer our students letters of commit-
 society.” In order to meet that goal, KCKPS students     ment early in their high school career. Think of this as
 must graduate with more than a high school diploma.      a “signing day,” similar to what we see for athletes.
 The KCK Board of Education and district have com-        The letters of commitment guarantee admittance and
 mitted to graduating our students “Diploma+©.”           a scholarship when the students achieve the criteria
 In addition to traditional high school requirements,     set forth by that institution. Parents and guardians,
 our students also will need to earn one or more of       this means that early in your child’s high school ca-
 the following:                                           reer, you will have colleges, universities and technical
          • One year of college                           schools recruiting your student.
          • A technical/industry recognized certificate     I am confident that with the support of families,
          or credential                                   our community, our business leaders, and under the
          • At least a 21 on the ACT© college             leadership of a focused Board of Education, we will
          readiness exam                                  continue to have great success in KCKPS. Let’s look
      Graduating Diploma+ begins the moment a             forward to a productive and successful school year
 student walks into one of our preschools on his or her   as we “Inspire Excellence: Every Grownup, Every Child,
 first day of school.                                     Every Day.”

 College and Career Prepared
   You may be wondering what being college and                Check out Dr. Cynthia Lane’s
 career prepared looks like for our youngest learners.
 In preschool, students explore, learn and talk about            blog, “It’s Up to Us” at
 various careers. Stories and learning centers are wo-
 ven together to allow our three- and four-year-olds                blog.kckps.org
 to begin to make connections. Elementary students

                                                                                   EDUCATION CONNECTION — SUMMER 2015   3
TWO DEGREES AT ONCE: GRADUATING DIPLOMA+
IN THIS ISSUE
3           Superintendent’s Message
                                                     Education Connection is a quarterly
5           Classes Begin August 10 for Most
            KCKPS Students
                                                     newsmagazine of the Kansas City, Kansas
                                                     Public Schools (KCKPS). Editorial copy and
                                                     photography are created by the KCKPS
6           Wyandotte Students Excel in Metro
            Area CAD Competition
                                                     Communications Department and produced
                                                     by NPG Newspapers. To receive a copy of
                                                     the magazine, call (913) 279-2242. A Spanish
7           Two Degrees at Once:
            Graduating Diploma+©
                                                     translation of the stories included in Education
                                                     Connection is available on the district’s website
                                                     at www.kckps.org/index.php/community-
8           Three District Seniors Named Gates
            Millennium Scholars
                                                     information.

                                                     Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools
9           In Memoriam:
            George Gray Breidenthal, Jr.
                                                     Central Office and Training Center
                                                     2010 N. 59th St.
                                                     Kansas City, KS 66104
10          Budget Woes Continue for Public
            Schools After 2015 Legislative Session
                                                     (913) 551-3200
                                                     www.kckps.org

11          Students, Community to Harvest
            Benefits of School-Based Mini
                                                     Superintendent of Schools
                                                     Dr. Cynthia Lane
            Orchards

            Annual Back to School Fair               Chief of Communications
            is August 1                              and Governmental Affairs
                                                     David A. Smith
12          A Day of Fitness and Fun
            for 5th Graders                          Communications Manager
                                                     Tammy Dodderidge
14          2015-16 District Calendar                Editor, Education Connection

                                                     KCK Board of Education
                                                     Irene Caudillo
COMMUNICATION RESOURCES                              Dr. Evelyn Hill
                                                     Brenda C. Jones
           Website: www.kckps.org                    Richard Kaminski
                Facebook:                            Gloria Willis                                                                                                SUMMER 201
                                                                                                                                                                            5

    Kansas-City-Kansas-Public-Schools                Dr. Valdenia Winn  TWO      DEGREE
                                                                            AT ONCE     S
      Twitter: Twitter.com/kckschools                                       GRADUA
                                                                                    :
                                                                                   TING
                                                                            DIPLOMA ©
                                                                                   +
    Superintendent’s Blog, “It’s Up to Us.”                                 CLASSE
                                                                            AUGUST
                                                                                   S BEGIN
                                                                                    10
                                                                            KCKPS ST FOR MOST

              Blog.kckps.org                                               THREE DI
                                                                           SENIORS
                                                                                     UDENTS
                                                                                    STRICT
                                                                                    NAMED
                                                                           MILLENNI        GATES
                                                                                    UM SCHO

              KCKPS TV:
                                                                                            LARS

    Channel 18 (on Time Warner Cable)
      Channel 145 (on Google Fiber)
                                                                                                                   City, KS 66104

 YouTube: www.youtube.com/KCKPSTV
                                                                                                       St., Kansas
                                                                                          2010 N. 59th                Schools
                                                                                                       Kansas Public
                                                                                          Kansas City,

                                                                                                                                    EDUCATION
                                                                                                                                                CONNECTIO
                                                                                                                                                         N — SUMM
                                                                                                                                                                  ER   2015   1

4 EDUCATION CONNECTION — SUMMER 2015
TWO DEGREES AT ONCE: GRADUATING DIPLOMA+
CLASSES BEGIN AUGUST 10
FOR MOST KCKPS STUDENTS

First Day of School                  Enrollment                           Immunizations                        To allow for this professional
                                                                                                             development time, students
   There are two official start      Information                            The Kansas City, Kansas
                                                                                                             at all grade levels are released
days for the 2015-2016 school          Elementary students new            Public Schools follows state
year for students in the Kansas                                           regulations regarding immu-        two hours early each Wednes-
                                     to the district should contact
City, Kansas Public Schools.                                              nizations for students. All stu-   day. (The exception is half-day
                                     the school they will attend for
Monday, August 10 will be the                                             dents MUST comply with these       preschool students who do not
                                     information about enrollment.
first full day of classes for K-5,                                        regulations to attend school.      attend school on Wednesdays).
                                     To find out which elementary
plus 6th grade students at all       school your child should attend,       All students returning to
middle schools (except North-        contact Student Services at (913)    school for the 2015-2016 school
west) and 9th grade students                                              year must be current on
                                                                                                             Parent and Student
                                     279-2248. High school and mid-
at Washington, Wyandotte,            dle school students who are new      their immunizations.               Handbook
Schlagle and Harmon high             to the district must enroll during     Parents of returning students       The Student Services Depart-
schools. At Sumner Academy           the New Student Enrollment at        who are in need of additional      ment of the Kansas City, Kan-
of Arts and Science, 8th graders     the Central Office and Training      immunizations before the fall,     sas Public Schools has updated
plus students new to Sumner          Center, 2010 N. 59th St., on one     have been notified by letter.      the Parent and Student Hand-
Academy will begin classes           of the following dates/times:        Please make plans to have your     book to serve as a communica-
on Monday, August 10. There            • Tuesday, July 28, 1 – 6 p.m.     children immunized before the      tions resource for families.
will be a full day of classes for      • Wednesday, July 29,              new school year begins.               The handbook includes en-
students at all grade levels on           10 a.m. – 2 p.m.                  Details about immunizations      rollment information, informa-
Tuesday, August 11.                    • Thursday, July 30,               are posted on the district’s       tion about student health and
   New Stanley Elementary and             1 – 6 p.m.                      website at www.kckps.org           safety, district policies, student
Northwest Middle follow a dif-         • Friday, July 31,                 under “Parent Info” and            support programs and services,
ferent school schedule. The first         10 a.m. – 2 p.m.                “Student Health.”                  and much more.
day of classes for New Stanley         Parents are asked to bring the                                           The handbook will be
students is Monday, July 27,         following with them when they                                           provided to all families at the
with an early dismissal. At          enroll their student:                Early Release                      beginning of the school year.
Northwest Middle School, 6th           • Current immunization             Wednesdays
grade students begin classes on           records (Students may             Each Wednesday during
Thursday, July 30. The first day          not enroll without shots        the school year, building staff
for all students at Northwest             being up-to-date)               come together in professional
will be Monday, August 3.              • Birth certificate                development sessions in order
   PreK students begin classes         • Transcript
                                                                          to strengthen their skills,
on Monday, August 10 with a            • Proof of residency
                                                                          practices, values and expec-
Family Advocacy Day.                      (mortgage, lease
                                                                          tations, in order to improve
                                          agreement or utility bill)
                                                                          student achievement.
                                       • Proof of guardianship
                                                                                                     EDUCATION CONNECTION — SUMMER 2015      5
TWO DEGREES AT ONCE: GRADUATING DIPLOMA+
WYANDOTTE STUDENTS EXCEL IN
METRO AREA CAD COMPETITION
Wyandotte High
School seniors
(from left)
Van Lal Lian and
Karina Macias
Leyva placed in
the metro-wide
2014-15 CAD
(Computer-Aided
Design)
Competition
this spring.

    Home design created by Van Lal Lian.                                         Home design created by Karina Macias Leyva.

   Two Wyandotte High School               and project description and        Leyva plans to attend Johnson                    and construction pathway
students were top winners                  were asked to create a design to   County Community College to                      offered through the district’s
this spring in the metro-wide              meet the challenge. This year’s    work on a two-year degree in                     Career and Technical Education
2014-15 CAD (Computer-Aided                project was to design a 3,000      drafting and design then trans-                  (CTE) Program. CTE Programs
Design) Competition spon-                  square-foot home for an older      fer to the University of Kansas.                 allow students to start their
sored by the National Institute            couple who enjoy hosting their     She hopes to earn an internship                  career studies while still in
for Construction Excellence                grown children and grand-          with an architecture firm while                  high school. Wyandotte High
and the National Association of            children. One stipulation was      she is in college. Lian plans to                 School offers 13 different CTE
Women in Construction.                     that the home be ADA compli-       attend the University of Kansas                  pathways for students.
   Karina Macias Leyva, senior,            ant, meaning it had to meet        to pursue his master’s degree                       Students from across the
placed first in the competi-               Americans with Disabilities Act    in architecture.                                 metro area were invited to
tion, and Van Lal Lian, senior,            (ADA) Standards for                  Both students became in-                       participate in the CAD compe-
placed third.                              Accessible Design.                 terested in the field of archi-                  tition. KCKPS was one of five
   For the competition, students             Leyva and Lian have plans to     tectural design through their                    school districts that chose to
were given a design problem                pursue careers in architecture.    involvement in the architecture                  participate this year.
6 EDUCATION CONNECTION — SUMMER 2015
TWO DEGREES AT ONCE: GRADUATING DIPLOMA+
TWO DEGREES AT ONCE:
GRADUATING DIPLOMA+©

   For most high school seniors, the rituals       one of the following three things:             Like many of her classmates, Mirth
of a graduation – donning a cap and gown,            • At least one year of                     began taking college classes in the 11th
marching in with their class, receiving                 college completed                       grade, at her high school. These classes,
their diploma – are experiences they will            • A technical certificate or credential    taught by her high school teachers, al-
never forget. However, for one high school           • At least a 21 on the ACT                 lowed her to earn both high school and
senior, Rachael Mirth of Washington High                College Entrance Exam                   college credit at the same time.
School, going through graduation twice on            For Mirth, receiving her associate’s de-     “It was definitely a learning experience,”
successive nights made this a particularly         gree (which is a two-year degree) puts her   Mirth said. “The expectations for the col-
memorable graduation season. On May 18,            far ahead of the pack.                       lege classes were much higher, and I really
Mirth received her high school diploma at            “We could not be more proud of Ra-         needed to learn to organize my time in
the graduation ceremony at Washington.             chael, and what she has accomplished,”       order to get everything done.”
The next night, she participated in gradu-         said Dr. Cynthia Lane, superintendent of
ation ceremonies at Kansas City Kansas             schools. “No one can question whether        Understanding the College
Community College (KCKCC), where she               Rachael is prepared for college – she has
received her associate’s degree.                   already completed two years! We aim          Experience
   Mirth is one of the first students to fulfill   for this level of achievement from all of      This past year, Mirth spent most of her
the promise of Diploma+©, a new initiative         our students.”                               time in classes at KCKCC.
of the Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools                                                         “Taking classes on campus really helped
(KCKPS). Four years ago, KCKPS estab-                                                           me to understand the ‘college’ experi-
                                                   Two Diplomas Meant Hard ence,” Mirth said. “I knew that this would
lished a singular goal: “Each student will
exit high school prepared for college and          Work and Sacrifice                           help me when I went on to finish my
careers in a global society.” A year ago,            For Mirth, reaching her goal of gradu-     bachelor’s degree.”
in order to make that goal more real for           ating with two diplomas required hard          When she realized that an associate’s
students and parents, the district created         work, dedication and sacrifice. The hard     degree was within reach, Mirth really
Diploma+, which both raises the expecta-           work and dedication included scheduling sharpened her focus, taking as many col-
tions for what students must do in order           a particularly rigorous load of courses,     lege classes as she could, including credits
to receive a high school diploma, and ex-          beginning in her junior year. This included during the summer and through on-line
pands and makes concrete what it means             taking classes over the summer, along with learning. Her success demonstrates the
to be “prepared for college and careers” in        some on-line classes. Among the things       potential of the Diploma+ program, ac-
KCKPS. (See story on page 3.)                      that she had to sacrifice was her leadership cording to Lane.
                                                   post in the Washington High School Air         “Rachael is leading the way,” Lane said,
                                                   Force Junior ROTC program.                   “but as the work of Diploma+ gets both
Requirements for                                     “I loved being in JROTC,” Mirth said,      deeper and wider, we expect to see many
Graduating Diploma+                                “but I knew I could not do that, and get all more students reach the same level of suc-
  With Diploma+, students in the Class             of my coursework done. It was definitely     cess. Rachael is but one of many students
of 2021 (this year’s incoming 7th graders)         hard giving it up, but it was something I    who demonstrate the power and the
will graduate with a diploma, along with           had to do.”                                  promise of Diploma+.”
                                                                                                     EDUCATION CONNECTION — SUMMER 2015    7
TWO DEGREES AT ONCE: GRADUATING DIPLOMA+
THREE DISTRICT SENIORS NAMED GATES
Three KCKPS seniors were named Gates                               The students are: LaTara Demery of
Millennium Scholars (GMS) this spring.                             Sumner Academy of Arts and Science,
As scholars they were awarded full                                 Van Lal Lian of Wyandotte High School,
scholarships to enable them to pursue a                            and Yazmin Sandoval of J.C. Harmon
degree in any undergraduate major and                              High School. They are among only 1,000
selected graduate programs at accredited                           students from throughout the U.S. to
colleges or universities.                                          receive these scholarships.

  LaTara                                                            Van Lal Lian
  Demery                                                               Lian graduated
     Demery gradu-                                                  ranked in the top 10
  ated from Sumner                                                  in his class at Wyan-
  Academy with a 3.81                                               dotte; he also had 13
  grade point average                                               college credits. He
  and completed a to-                                               overcame a num-
  tal of seven Interna-                                             ber of obstacles to
  tional Baccalaureate                                              excel. He came to the
  classes. She was a                                                Kansas City, Kansas
  member of the Na-                                                 Public Schools at
  tional Honor Society,                                             the age of 13 from
  the Senior Board and                                              a refugee camp in
  Leadership 20/20.                                                 Malaysia. Origi-
  She was a member                                                  nally from Myanmar
  of Sumner’s Speech                                                (formerly known as
  and Debate Team all                                               Burma), his family
  four years of high                                                left the country when
  school and competed                                               he was 10 years old to avoid imprisonment and execution.
  in more than 40 state                                             He spoke only Chin and Burmese when he started school
  and national tournaments in debate and forensics. She took        at Central Middle School.
  second at the state debate tournament. She was the state             He quickly took command of the English language while
  champion in original oration in forensics and placed in the       he was at Wyandotte and by his senior year he was tak-
  top 10 in the National Forensics Competition.                     ing rigorous coursework and earning all A’s. He excelled
     She volunteered as a math tutor for 8th grade students         in Computer-Aided Design, and received two awards in
  and helped organize a number of fundraisers and special           metro-wide CAD competitions. He was a member of the
  events for the Sumner Speech and Debate Team.                     soccer team, a mentor to ESL students and was involved in
     She plans to attend the University of Texas (Austin) in        the University of Kansas TRIO Talent Search program. In
  the fall. Her life dream is to help others, so she plans to       his community, he is a Sunday school teacher and also vol-
  obtain a degree in social work with a minor in psychology.        unteers his time to help the Myanmar refugee community
     “I am over the moon,” she said, of receiving the Gates         in the Kansas City area.
  scholarship. “I didn’t think it was possible, honestly. I used       Lian has been accepted into the school of architecture at
  to dream about going to college and going to a university         the University of Kansas. He plans to become an interna-
  and being one of the first (in my family) to do so and I          tional architect so he can design homes that are affordable,
  never thought it was possible because we didn’t have the          durable and safe. His long-term goal is to build an orphan-
  money or resources or things like that to make it happen...       age in his home country of Myanmar.
  When I got it I couldn’t do anything but just fall into my           “Being a Gates Millennium Scholar makes me feel like I
  dad’s arms and cry. I feel like the whole world has opened        have a duty and a responsibility,” Lian said. “I have a duty
  up before me and I can do anything.”                              because I have to give back to the community as the Gates
                                                                    Millennium Scholarship has done for me.”

8 EDUCATION CONNECTION — SUMMER 2015
TWO DEGREES AT ONCE: GRADUATING DIPLOMA+
MILLENNIUM SCHOLARS
                                                                The Gates Millennium Scholars (GMS)
 Yazmin Sandoval                                                Program, funded by a grant from the Bill &
    Sandoval graduated fifth                                    Melinda Gates Foundation, was established
 in her class at Harmon,
 taking college courses                                         in 1999 to provide outstanding low income
 along with her regular                                         African American, American Indian/Alaska
 coursework. She was a
 member of the National                                         Native, Asian Pacific Islander American,
 Honor Society, Leadership                                      and Hispanic American students with an
 20/20, KU Talent Search,
 the Senior Board and the                                       opportunity to complete an undergraduate
 girls’ soccer team, among                                      college education in any discipline they
 others. She believes her
 success in school was the                                      choose. The goal of GMS is to promote
 result of her hard work                                        academic excellence by providing
 and dedication, plus the
 motivation and support                                         thousands of outstanding students,
 she received from her fam-                                     who have significant financial need, the
 ily, friends, school staff and work supervisors.
    She gives to her community through her involvement          opportunity to reach their full potential.
 in the Pay It Forward Club, of which she is vice president.
 The organization’s members donate both time and needed
 items to shelters and the school community. She also
 volunteered as a teacher’s aide at Silver City Elementary
                                                                   YOUTUBE VIDEO FEATURES
 School.
    She plans to attend Rockhurst University in the fall to         SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS
 study accounting.
    “Without this scholarship, I wouldn’t be going to college
                                                                         See and hear more about these
 so it’s a great opportunity,” she said.                           Gates Millennium Scholars by watching
    Her long-term goals are to have her own business               a video on the KCKPS YouTube Channel,
 someday. She also would like to help her parents start
                                                                        www.YouTube.com/KCKPSTV.
 their own business.

IN MEMORIAM
                                 GEORGE GRAY BREIDENTHAL, Jr.
                                          1948 - 2015
                                  Our long-time Board           dents and staff in KCKPS   his family and friends.
                                of Education member             was unsurpassed.           He devoted his life to
                                and dear friend and               He was a voice of        service, and to the KCK
                                colleague, George Bre-          reason, an advocate for    community, and his
                                identhal, passed away on        the poor and a cham-       legacy will live on with
                                June 23. He served on the       pion for student success   us forever.
                                KCK Board of Education          in academics, sports and
                                for 32 years. His passion       the arts. George will       -The KCK Board of
                                for quality education and       be remembered for his        Education and
                                compassion for the stu-         kindness and love for        KCKPS Staff
                                                                                    EDUCATION CONNECTION — SUMMER 2015   9
TWO DEGREES AT ONCE: GRADUATING DIPLOMA+
BUDGET WOES CONTINUE FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS
AFTER 2015 LEGISLATIVE SESSION
KCKPS Begins New
School Year with Personnel
Cuts, Furlough Days and
Reduced Funding for All
Schools and Departments
   Well, the dust has settled, and the 2015
session of the Kansas Legislature, the longest
in the history of the state of Kansas, is finally
over. In an atmosphere of unprecedented
pressure from Governor Sam Brownback and
legislative leaders, lawmakers approved a
state budget by the slimmest of margins. This
                                                    Superintendent Dr. Cynthia Lane testified this spring at a hearing in the school funding lawsuit in Topeka.
budget increases the sales tax, leaves in place     Lawyers for Schools for Fair Funding, a coalition of school districts which KCKPS participates in, are challenging the
the 2012 tax cuts (which exempted more              Block Grants which were enacted by the legislature in March.
than 330,000 businesses from paying any tax,        series of budget reductions, which included                           district initiatives, according to Lane.
creating the current budget shortfalls) and         the elimination of the Chief of Human Re-                                “We are working hard to prepare each stu-
leaves a miniscule ending balance.                  sources position, along with 30                                       dent for college and careers,” Lane said, “and
   The budget cuts are coming in the wake of        assessment manager positions (individuals                             in order to do this, they must have access
the Kansas legislature passing, and Governor        who provided support to schools in                                    to college classes and certificate programs,
Brownback signing, House Substitute for             implementing local and state assessments,                             some of which are not supported by state
Senate Bill 7 which is referred to by the Gov-      and in interpreting and using test results to                         funds. We have made the commitment to
ernor as a Block Grant bill. This bill decreases    drive school improvement.)                                            provide our students with the support they
the amount of state funding the Kansas City,          These cuts will have a significant impact                           need to be ready for their future, and we can-
Kansas Public Schools (KCKPS) will receive          on the district, its staff, and its students, ac-                     not go back on that commitment.”
over the next two fiscal years. These reduc-        cording to Dr. Cynthia Lane, superintendent.                             And with state revenues continuing to fall
tions are on top of cuts that school districts        “We have cut more than $50 million in the                           below projections, the district is concerned
across the state have seen over the past seven      past seven years,” said Lane. “There is no fat                        that additional budget reductions might be
years, which have created a school funding          anywhere to cut; we are being forced to make                          necessary in the new fiscal year (despite the
system that a three-judge panel in Shawnee          cuts in things that really matter to our work.”                       promise by Block Grant supporters that the
District Court has declared unconstitutional.         Budget reductions will include furlough                             Block Grants would provide districts with a
KCKPS is one of the lead plaintiffs in that         days for all year-round employees, along                              reliable source of funding).
lawsuit, Gannon v. State of Kansas.                 with a reduction in the number of contract                               “The state is failing in its constitutional
   KCKPS will face a $2 million cut and will        days for certain staff, including teacher lead-                       obligation to provide a suitable education
have to make additional cuts in order to            ers. Non-personnel-related cuts include a                             for all students,” Lane said. “The decisions
cover increases in health care, energy and          reduction of $900,000 in funding for alter-                           being made in Topeka will impact the lives of
other costs. In addition, the district is facing    native services, a 10% cut to all school and                          children in Kansas for generations to come.
increases in certain fixed costs, including         department budgets, a reduction of $350,000                           I pray that legislators will decide to do the
health insurance, which will rise by approxi-       in textbook purchases, and reduced spending                           right thing, and provide sufficient support
mately $2.2 million, and some necessary             on technology, transportation, professional                           for public schools across the state of Kansas.”
upgrades to technology infrastructure.              development, supplies and summer school,
   And the decreases in state funding will be       among other things.
magnified because the district will no longer         While the reasons mentioned above are
be receiving additional funding to serve new        significant, cuts are also necessary in order
students. The district has grown by an aver-                                                                                   As this issue was going to print, the
                                                    to provide resources to support important
                                                                                                                                 Shawnee District Court ruled that

                                                    “
age of 500 students over each of the past five
years. Before SB 7, the district would have                                                                                    House Substitute for SB 7, the block
expected to receive an additional $1.4 million                                                                                 grant bill, was unconstitutional. The
in state aid to educate those students, along                    The decisions being made                                      ruling was immediately appealed to
with additional funds for special needs,                    in Topeka will impact the                                           the Kansas Supreme Court, and the
such as poverty and students who need to                    lives of children in Kansas for                                  impact of the decision on district fund-
learn English.                                                                                                               ing for the 2015/16 school year remains
                                                            generations to come.                                              unclear. Please check the district web-
   Earlier this spring, in anticipation of bad                       – Dr. Cynthia Lane,
news from Topeka, the district announced a                                                                                     site and Facebook page for the latest
                                                                     Superintendent
                                                                                                                               information on the district’s budget.
10 EDUCATION CONNECTION — SUMMER 2015
STUDENTS, COMMUNITY TO HARVEST BENEFITS
OF SCHOOL-BASED MINI ORCHARDS

  This spring, the grounds at        Students at Arrowhead          Their orchard includes a
two KCKPS middle schools          created a proposal for their      prairie grass sanctuary and
were transformed into edible      orchard project and presented     small pond.
landscapes that will give back    it at a student conference at       Both orchards are creating
to the community.                 Mid-America Nazarene Uni-         an edible landscape that will
  Students and staff at Ar-       versity. They were awarded        provide nutritious food for
rowhead and Rosedale middle       a $300 grant to design, build     the school and the community.
schools teamed up with the        and carryout the project.         And students are learning
Giving Grove to plant mini        The grant enabled them to         about healthy eating and how
orchards in their school yards.   secure 12 fruit trees and         to grow their own food.
The Giving Grove helps at-risk    the necessary supplies to           The Giving Grove is a pro-
communities grow, harvest         complete their orchard.           gram of the Kansas City Com-
and share healthy food by pro-       At Rosedale, the students      munity Gardens. Its goal is
viding the resources needed       transformed the school            to create more than 60 neigh-
to plant edible tree gardens on   grounds as part of their sci-     borhood orchards at schools,
school grounds, church land,      ence curriculum. Trees planted    churches, community centers
community grounds, and            include Asian pear, apple, fig,   and more.
vacant land.                      goumi berry and bush cherry.

ANNUAL BACK TO SCHOOL FAIR IS AUGUST 1
                                                                     This year’s fair will be held    nizations and sports physicals
                                                                         Saturday, August 1           will be available to the first 400
                                                                           at two locations:          children (parents must bring
                                                                          Kansas City Kansas          a current immunization card
                                                                          Community College,          or a pre-participation exami-
                                                                    7250 State Ave., 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. nation form for the physical).
                                                                                                      Other offerings will include eye
                                                                         The Boys & Girls Club        screenings (for the first 50 chil-
                                                                        Wyandotte County Unit,        dren), books, lunch, book bags
                                                                       1240 Troup, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.   with supplies and much more.
                                                                                                        The fair is sponsored by the
                                                                       The fair is open to all fami-  Kansas City, Kansas Public
                                                                    lies with students who live in    Schools, KCK Community
                                                                    Wyandotte County (both public College and the Board of
                                                                    and private school students.)     Public Utilities.
                                                                    Parents must provide proof          For exhibitor information,
                                     Sports physicals, immuniza-    of residence to participate in    contact Andrica Wilcoxen, (913)
                                  tions and school supplies will    the fair.                         288-7439, awilcoxen@kckcc.
                                  be some of the many offer-           The purpose of the event is    edu. For more information
                                  ings at the Annual Wyandotte      to provide a one-stop oppor-      about the fair, contact Arlana
                                  County Back to School Fair.       tunity for families to prepare    Coleman, chair, (913) 522-7526,
                                                                    for the start of school. Immu-    ajoycole@att.net.
                                                                                              EDUCATION CONNECTION — SUMMER 2015     11
A Day of Fitness and Fun
     for 5th Graders
   2015 marked the fourth year for the district’s Are You Faster
Than a 5th Grader event. The two-mile race held each spring
brings together 5th grade students, district administrators and
staff, and community leaders and patrons for a morning of
friendly competition and
physical activity. This year’s
event included the two-mile run
for 5th grade teams and a
one-mile walk for other 5th
grade students. The event
began at Kansas City Kansas
Community College and ended
at the Washington High School
stadium. Superintendent Dr.
Cynthia Lane launched the
event in 2012 as a way to
promote physical fitness to
students and to encourage
overall wellness.

12 EDUCATION CONNECTION — SUMMER 2015
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                                                           EDUCATION CONNECTION — SUMMER 2015   13
2015-2016 DISTRICT CALENDAR
(FIRST QUARTER)

July                                        September
27    New Stanley Elementary’s              7        Holiday/
      first day of school                            Admin. Offices closed
30-31 Northwest Middle’s first              8        Board of Education meeting
      day of school (grade 6)               21       Student Count Day
August                                      22       Board of Education meeting
3              Northwest Middle’s
               first day of school for      October
               all students
                                            8        Last day of 1st quarter
3              New Teacher Inservice
                                            9        .5 records prep/.5 inservice
4              Building Inservice/
                                            13       Board of Education meeting
               Classroom Prep
                                            21       Early Release/
5              Convocation/
                                                     Family Advocacy
               Classroom Prep
                                            22       Family Advocacy Day/
6              District Inservice/
                                                     No school for students
               Bldg Inservice
                                            23       Teacher Non-Duty Day/
7              Building Inservice
                                                     No School
10             Preschool Family
                                            23       Furlough/Administrative
               Advocacy Day
                                                     Offices closed
10             First day of school
                                            27       Board of Education meeting
               (PreK-5, 6, 9)
11             First day of school -              The full district calendar is
               all students                      accessible from the homepage
11             Board of Education meeting       of the website, www.kckps.org
25             Board of Education meeting            (click on “calendars”).

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