Wichita Eagle: Education

Teacher-poet Taylor Mali speaks to Heights students via Skype

Suzanne Perez Tobias — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:32 CST

Before a group of Heights High School students met poet Taylor Mali via video conference on Tuesday, they watched some of his spoken-word performances:

I’m not your mother,

I’m not your father,

New Wichita school boundary plan scales back some changes

Suzanne Perez Tobias — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:00 CST

A new attendance boundary plan presented to Wichita school board members Monday would close four elementary schools, relocate Northeast Magnet High School and keep most high school assignments the same.

Superintendent John Allison said he doesn’t know precisely how many of the district’s 50,000 students would be forced to change schools under his proposal.

But several board members said they want to know that and other details before they vote later this month.

Wichita: School finance plans would hurt districts with at-risk students

BRENT D. WISTROM — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:16 CST

TOPEKA – Officials from several of Kansas’ largest school districts criticized Gov. Sam Brownback’s school finance formula Monday, saying that it freezes funding after years of cuts and isn’t flexible enough for changing demographics.

Chief among concerns is a proposal to eliminate a weighting system that gives more money to school districts with more at-risk students who struggle with English or have other disadvantages.

“This formula would treat every student the same while ignoring actual costs,” Diane Gjerstad, a lobbyist for the Wichita school district, told the Senate Education Committee.

A computer for every kid at Collegiate

Beccy Tanner — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:50 CST

The idea of a school equipping students with laptop computers used to make Bunny Hill a bit of a skeptic.

“I would nod wisely and say, ‘Too much money, too little gain,’ ” said Hill, the assistant headmaster at Wichita Collegiate School.

But not now.

Mulvane school district to vote on $13.4 million bond issue

Suzanne Perez Tobias — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:23 CST

Voters in Mulvane will decide in May on a $13.4 million bond issue to pay for school additions and improvements.

“It’s really about the critical and safety needs of the students,” said Tom Keil, director of human resources and communication for Mulvane schools.

The Mulvane school board unanimously approved a resolution last week to schedule the special election May 8. Proposed improvements include:

Kansans here and away celebrate state’s anniversary

Beccy Tanner — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 09:34 CST

As Kansans we live by our motto, “Ad astra per aspera," which is Latin for "To the stars through difficulties."

“One thing I’ve noticed about Kansans is how we express our state identity,” said Jay Price, director of public history at Wichita State University. “Ad astra per aspera seems to be the thing. I know a couple of people who have Ad astra tattoos. There is something about that motto that resonates with Kansans.”

No doubt, we Kansans are passionate — if sometimes a little quirky. We celebrate Kansas.

Wichita State’s Gore scholarships awarded to Carbondale, Wellsville students

Annie Calovich — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:59 CST

The pool of 11 finalists competing for this year’s lucrative Gore scholarships at Wichita State University was so strong, even the nine students who weren’t chosen will be offered four-year scholarships worth at least $20,000, a WSU official said.

Two Kansas students — one from Carbondale and one from Wellsville — were announced Thursday as the two winners of the Gore scholarships — at $48,000 over four years among Kansas’ biggest scholarships.

Whitney Wilson, a senior at Santa Fe Trail High School in Carbondale, near Topeka, and Caleb Smith, a senior at Wellsville High School, southwest of Olathe, were chosen after a competition that had started with a pool of 359 students. WSU has awarded the Gore scholarships each year since 1954 to two students who show outstanding leadership potential. The gifts honor Russian immigrant Harry Gore, who came to El Dorado as part of the oil industry in 1915 and believed in the potential of Kansas youth to make the state better.

Wichita school district bought property near school considered for closure

Suzanne Perez Tobias — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:00 CST

Over the past five years, the Wichita school district has bought several properties near Lincoln Elementary, an aging school building being considered for closure.

According to district records, board members approved the purchase of six properties in the 1200 block of South Emporia, just south and east of the school, at a cost of nearly $300,000. The district bought four properties in March 2007, one in August 2009 and another in November 2009, records show.

Officials say the district was considering using the property for additional parking, bus loading and playground or outdoor space at Lincoln.

Part of northeast Wichita would stay boundary-free in new schools plan

Suzanne Perez Tobias — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:00 CST

Students in a predominantly African-American area of northeast Wichita would continue to be assigned to seven different high schools and various middle schools, according to a new boundary plan presented to an advisory group Thursday night.

The area, known as the “assigned attendance area,” is roughly bounded by Kellogg, Washington, 29th North and Oliver. It would continue to be a boundary-free portion of the district, according to the new plan.

A previous proposal had students in that area attending three high schools – East, North and Northwest. The new plan would assign students to various schools based on their address, regardless of race, as they are now.

Wichita State to announce Gore scholars this morning

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 06:13 CST

Wichita State University will introduce its Gore Scholarship winners this morning at the school’s Marcus Welcome Center.

Two high school seniors will receive the Harry Gore Memorial Scholarship worth $48,000, one of the largest individual undergraduate scholarships in Kansas. The winners will be announced at 11:30 a.m.

Eleven finalists were chosen from the 359 students who competed, one of the largest competitions in the scholarship’s history.

Packed Wichita school board meeting focuses on boundary plan

Suzanne Perez Tobias — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:00 CST

Wichita school board members on Monday got their first chance to pose questions publicly about a tentative plan to close some schools and redraw district attendance boundaries.

Before that, they heard from nearly 20 parents, students and neighborhood leaders who urged board members to keep their schools open.

“I find it very disturbing that you are considering to close Lincoln (Elementary) School, because the kids are the ones who are going to suffer,” said Maricela Higareta, a Spanish-speaking mother of three, through an interpreter.

Bel Aire residents will offer alternative to Wichita school boundary plan

Denise Neil — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:00 CST

A group of Bel Aire parents and residents upset about the Wichita district’s tentative attendance boundary plans for two new schools in their area have come up with two proposals that they say are a meet-in-the-middle compromise.

The group plans to launch an e-mail campaign this week that would make school board members and other decision makers aware of their wishes.

On Saturday morning, the group of about 30 – which included Bel Air parents, residents and city leaders – met at the Bel Aire City Hall to outline their concerns.

Emerson Elementary parents to keep airing concerns over Wichita boundary plan

Suzanne Perez Tobias — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:00 CST

This week Charity Chapman will once again review her notes and collect her posters — the ones that say “We (heart) Emerson” and “Size matters! Small schools are better!”

The Wichita mom will gather with others who oppose the closing of four Wichita elementary schools, and they’ll show up at meetings to show and tell school board members how they feel.

“We want them to know they’re not just closing a school,” Chapman said. “They’re breaking up a family.”

Wichita district leaders see how new northeast schools are taking shape

Suzanne Perez Tobias — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 07:13 CST

Wearing hard hats and dodging piles of concrete mix, plumbing supplies, tile and grout, Wichita school leaders got an inside look Friday at two schools nearing completion in northeast Wichita.

Whether and when those schools will open – and exactly who will fill the classrooms and hallways – remains a mystery.

“It’s Tetris right now,” said board member Lanora Nolan, referring to the popular video game.

Wichita district urged to slow down redrawing of school boundaries

Suzanne Perez Tobias — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:00 CST

African-American leaders in Wichita say they want school officials to halt plans to close schools and redraw district boundaries, saying the current proposal raises too many questions and is being rushed toward approval.

“We’re asking that we just slow down,” said Lavonta Williams, president of the Wichita branch of the NAACP and a member of a district advisory group on boundaries. “Is this something that we really need to rush and make a decision about, as opposed to taking our time and making sure we are doing the best thing for all the kids in the city?”

District leaders say postponing a decision on boundaries could mean mothballing as many as five new schools set to open this fall as part of a $370 million bond issue.

Public meetings begin this week on proposed attendance boundaries for Wichita schools

Suzanne Perez Tobias — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:00 CST

After months of developing and debating new school attendance boundaries, Wichita school officials will begin hearing this week from those who would be affected most by those changes: students and their families.

Wednesday marks the kickoff of at least four public meetings intended to collect feedback on the first major overhaul of district boundaries in more than 30 years.

A tentative plan, developed by consultants with input from a district advisory group, would close four elementary schools — Bryant, Emerson, Lincoln and Mueller — as a cost-cutting measure.

Wichita’s McCormick School Museum gives visitors a look at history

Beccy Tanner — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 20:58 CST

For a brief time on Sunday, the McCormick School Museum was filled with people again.

Its wood floors creaked with footsteps and its halls echoed with voices.

“I liked the exhibits,” said Wichitan Jo Cahill, who popped into the building on Sunday out of curiosity. “I’d always wanted to see one of these old schools.”

Woodland Elementary families relieved, Emerson families distressed at boundaries plan

Suzanne Perez Tobias — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:00 CST

Parents at Wichita’s Woodland Elementary School on Friday were cheering and planning a celebratory pancake feed, relieved to be off a list of suggested school closings.

At the same time, a mom and longtime volunteer at nearby Emerson Open Magnet Elementary was in tears over news that her school could close instead.

“Emerson is like a family – very close-knit, very welcoming,” said Billie Jo Rodriguez, whose son is a fourth-grader at Emerson.

Revised plan for school boundaries would keep Woodland Elementary open

Suzanne Perez Tobias — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 23:47 CST

A revised boundary plan for Wichita schools would keep Woodland Elementary open but close Emerson, another magnet elementary in the North Riverside area.

The plan, presented to a district advisory group Thursday, also would open two K-8 schools under construction as K-5 elementaries instead.

It would keep pure magnet middle schools, such as Allison, Brooks and Mayberry, as pure magnets instead of changing them to neighborhood magnet schools, as suggested last month. Only Gordon Parks Academy, a K-8 school in northeast Wichita, would remain a neighborhood magnet.

Derby to vote April 3 on $66.6 million bond issue for schools

SUZANNE PEREZ TOBIAS — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 21:36 CST

Derby school officials say they’ve waited and studied long enough: The district needs a new middle school, a central kitchen, roof repairs and other improvements.

Voters will decide in April on a $66.6 million bond issue to pay for the work.

“A number of our buildings are over 50 years old, and the classrooms … are much smaller than what contemporary needs require,” said Don Adkisson, director of finance for the district.