Local school board members urged to participate in Kansans Can Success Tour

Posted Date: 07/19/2021

Local school board members are encouraged to attend a statewide conversation on pre-K through 12th grade and beyond as Kansas education leaders kick off the Kansans Can Success Tour.

The tour will hit 50 cities starting Mon. July 26. Here is a link to tour dates and locations.

During the meetings, Kansas Education Commissioner Dr. Randy Watson, Deputy Commissioner Dr. Brad Neuenswander and members of the State Board of Education will gather input on the current direction for Kansas public schools and share progress made on the vision and outcomes established by the State Board.

“This is an excellent opportunity for local board members to share their thoughts and insights with Commissioner Watson,” said KASB Executive Director John Heim.
 
In addition to local school board members, others are encouraged to attend, including educators, parents, legislators, business leaders and community members.

The tour is a follow up to one six years ago that produced the Kansans Can vision of having Kansas lead the world in the success of each student.

In following that vision, the State Board set goals of improving preparation for kindergarten, individualized plans of study, high school graduation rates, post-secondary success and providing more social and emotional support for students.

The board began a project to redesign schools based on what Kansans said they wanted. Since Kansans Can began, Kansas has been through a school finance lawsuit, adopted a new school funding plan, and experienced the worst pandemic in a century.

Now, Kansas education officials want to review progress that has been made and ask for input on the next steps to keep improving as schools continue to deal with the effects of COVID-19. The goal is to draw at least 100 attendees to each meeting – nearly 5,000 Kansans in all – for this discussion that will help map out the future of Kansas education.

KASB staff and leaders will be attending and reporting on these meetings. We encourage all school boards to be part of this conversation, and to encourage members of your own community to attend as well. Each meeting will last 90 minutes, and participant feedback will be recorded and shared.