By Randy Watson
Kansas Education Commissioner
Welcome back!
Our Kansas schools are preparing to open their doors to nearly 500,000 students this month, but by all accounts, many kids never really left the classroom this summer and probably don’t even realize it.
Districts across the state have created some amazing summer learning opportunities for their students, in response to the learning loss created by the pandemic. This summer alone, one district offered unique project-based learning events that included a pop-up taco truck and a drive-in movie experience hosted at a local farm. Students designed these experiences, marketed them and staffed them throughout the summer months.
Another district provided students a career exploration experience where they spent Monday through Thursday in the classroom researching and building foundational awareness about postsecondary education. On Fridays, the students took field trips, which provided an opportunity for community members to engage in the students’ learning.
For its part, the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) was again able to offer the Sunflower Summer program. Using federal COVID relief funds, KSDE launched this program last summer to encourage learning and family engagement throughout the summer months. This year, the program allowed Kansas students and their families to visit 90 statewide attractions and bonus events like an overnight campout at Milford Lake at no charge. Attractions included museums, libraries, historical sites, nature areas and more. Many of these attractions also developed guided learning activities for students and their parents. As of late July, nearly 130,000 free tickets had been redeemed. The program is scheduled to continue each summer through 2024.
Prior to the pandemic, Kansas education posted its highest graduation rates and largest percentage of graduates attending and persisting in postsecondary education programs. We will regain that momentum, but it will take all of us working together. Parent/community engagement in student learning is an important piece of education, as is trusting in our educators to know what it takes to prepare students for life after high school.
Moving forward this school year, our educators will continue to focus on addressing the academic and social-emotional needs of students. Schools will do this by focusing efforts in the outcome areas of social-emotional growth measured locally; kindergarten readiness; developing and following an Individual Plan of Study for each student beginning in middle school; creating opportunities for students to learn about and practice civic engagement; ensuring each student is academically prepared for postsecondary pursuits; increasing the number of students graduating high school; as well as increasing the percent of those graduates who have earned a postsecondary credential or are enrolled in a postsecondary education program two years after graduation.
In 2019, KSDE introduced the Kansans Can Star Recognition program designed to recognize Kansas districts that are doing outstanding work in these outcome areas. Since the program’s launch, the number of districts earning recognition for high levels of achievement in multiple outcome areas has increased significantly. This tells us that our districts are fully invested in continuously improving the education experience provided to each student.
We continue to have a shortage of substitute teachers that many schools experienced last school year. To help ease this burden, the Kansas State Board of Education has taken temporary, emergency steps to encourage more people to fill these roles. These include providing an easier transition for retired educators to return to the classroom and providing educational supports to help more individuals qualify for substitute licenses. While these measures help fill the immediate need, the State Board has tasked KSDE staff members to work with educators and higher education representatives to identify long-term solutions to address this shortage while maintaining and growing a quality talent pool. Many districts have pursued “grow your own” teaching programs, while others have recruited promising classroom volunteers to pursue their substitute teaching licenses. Our greatest opportunity as a state, however, is to focus our efforts on demonstrating that teaching is a respected and high-demand career in Kansas.
Kansas education is among the strongest in the nation as noted by many measures, but it could be so much more if we would focus our energy on supporting our schools and our educators.
How often do each of us reach out to our schools to tell them they’re doing a great job? How often do we recognize the educators who create those extraordinary classroom and summer learning opportunities for our students?
We are all Kansans. We are all deeply invested in the children of Kansas. In fact, if I were to ask you what the best district in the state is, I’d bet you’d say it’s your own. Why? Because you believe in your schools and you trust in your teachers.
Imagine if we applied that same attitude toward Kansas education as a whole.
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