While masking, vaccines and critical race theory have dominated headlines related to public education recently, nearly 2,000 Kansans have participated in meetings statewide to talk about progress made over the past few years, what more needs to be done and how to keep education on track as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.
Kansas Education Commissioner Dr. Randy Watson and Deputy Commissioner Brad Neuenswander have dubbed the meetings the Kansans Can Success Tour, after the State Board of Education-endorsed Kansans Can goal of helping each child succeed. So far, the two education leaders have conducted meetings in 28 cities, wrapping up last week’s meetings in Andover and Valley Center. The 50-city tour continues Aug. 30 and here is a link to the schedule.
At the meetings, Watson and Neuenswander review the state’s efforts to redesign K-12 education to improve early childhood learning, provide students with individual plans of study, increase high school graduation and post-secondary participation rates, and focus more on the social and emotional development of students. Those who attend provide input on whether those goals remain valid and what else should be included in our educational system.
Attendees also break off several times into small group discussions. The conversations indicate people are busy getting back to the business of education and trying to return to something somewhere near normal.
After the meeting Friday in Andover, Susan DeVaughn, vice president of the Andover USD 385 school, said the Kansans Can vision that focuses on the whole student is similar to the Andover district’s “Portrait of a Graduate” effort.
“They are all aligned with what we want to do,” DeVaughn said.
DeVaughn worked on the committee that has worked with businesses and the community to connect with students and help them hone interpersonal skills.
As far as the start of the new school year, DeVaughn said because of COVID-19, the first days have presented many challenges. Earlier in the week, she visited three schools in the district to see how things were going.
She said the district’s staff is “doing all they can to make sure they are making the right decisions.”
State Board of Education member Ben Jones of Sterling attended the week’s final meeting Friday in Valley Center. He said he thought it was important to share recent Kansas education data, such as increasing graduation rates, with the community to show “what movement we’ve had in the last five years.”
Jones said the input from Kansans is important. “I hope it produces good feedback for the State Board to see if we’re on the right track,” he said.
In addition to Jones, State Board Chairman Jim Porter, of Fredonia; Vice Chair Janet Waugh, of Kansas City; Jean Clifford, of Garden City; Dr. Deena Horst, of Salina; Jim McNiece and Betty Arnold, both of Wichita, have participated in meetings. The tour hasn’t yet reached the districts of Ann Mah, of Topeka; Michelle Dombrosky, of Olathe and Melanie Haas, of Overland Park.
The meetings have been attended by educators, parents, school board members, business leaders, students, legislators and concerned citizens.
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