Wichita Public Schools chooses its next superintendent from within district ranks

Kansas’ largest school district has named its next superintendent.

At a Friday special meeting, the Wichita school board chose Kelly Bielefeld to replace Alicia Thompson on July 1.

Bielefeld, who has been the district’s executive director of college and career readiness since 2020, has also served in teacher, principal and assistant superintendent roles in the Clearwater, Derby, Renwick and Goddard districts.

“Since coming to Wichita Public Schools in 2020, he has supported secondary schools with visionary college- and career-ready leadership, written and administered federal grants and created our future-ready center in cooperation with WSU Tech,” board President Sheril Logan said.

“Education is part of who I am and what I love,” said Bielefeld, the grandson of a German immigrant who moved to Kansas in the 1930s with no formal education.

“He got into farming, which was the family industry, but he knew the value of education, and my father and his siblings went to public schools,” said Bielefeld (pronounced: BEE-luh-feld), who holds a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Kansas State and a master’s in building leadership from Wichita State.

The district paid Cedar Rapids-based Ray & Associates $34,000 plus travel expenses to facilitate the search process, which school board members decided to limit to candidates already employed by Wichita Public Schools.

“I know we had a provision in our search process to go outside the district, but when we saw the caliber of the candidates internally, we did not feel that we needed to move to an external search,” Logan said.

“I think this was the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make in my life. All of the candidates were so extraordinary,” board member Ernestine Krehbiel said.

Logan said nearly 2,000 people provided input to the search process but would not say how many candidates applied for the position.

Bielefeld said it’s too early to say what his first year on the job will look like, but he plans to spend the coming months learning from outgoing superintendent Thompson and participating in community listening sessions to lay the groundwork for the district’s next strategic plan.

“We have a lot to do as a district. We have challenges ahead,” Bielefeld said. “I believe together, we are up to the task.”

District data shows that teachers who weighed in on the superintendent search rated classroom experience as a high priority.

Bielefeld started his education career as an English and career and technical education teacher at Goddard High School and served three years as principal of Oaklawn Elementary in Derby. He also served as an elementary and middle school principal in Clearwater before transitioning to the role of assistant superintendent.

“I’ve had the gamut of experience when it comes to, I’m very comfortable sitting on the floor and doing alphabet art with kindergarteners and I’m very comfortable shaking hands with seniors and talking to them about what they’re going to do after high school,” Bielefeld said.

He said Wichita schools should do everything they can to prepare those graduates to enter the workforce or further their education in college.

“We need students that graduate with the skills, employability skills, technical skills and the academic skills to be successful,” he said.

More than 47,000 students attend Wichita schools, according to the district website, and USD 259 has 5,600 some full-time employees.

“Our diversity can be a challenge but it’s also our biggest strength,” Bielefeld said. “We have kids who, if we can just connect them with the right hope, the right resources and the right opportunities . . . I think the sky’s the limit for the kids at Wichita Public Schools.”

Thompson, who took over as superintendent in 2017, worked for the district for 31 years, starting as a kindergarten teacher at Ingalls Elementary School. She announced her retirement in November.

This story was originally published March 10, 2023 at 12:22 PM.