Superintendent Brooks accepts position in Albuquerque
Superintendent Winston Brooks has accepted the superintendent’s position in the Albuquerque, NM Public Schools. He will continue serving as superintendent in Wichita for the rest of the school year.

“I am honored to have had the opportunity to work beside so many of you for the last 20+ years. It has been, in particular, an honor to work with you in serving our wonderful children in Wichita as your Superintendent,” Brooks wrote in an email to staff.

“I will continue serving the children of Wichita with all my energy throughout this school year,” said Brooks. “We are a long way from saying goodbye. We have much work to still accomplish.”

“Personally, it was hard to hear the news,” said Board of Education President Connie Dietz. “While none of us wants to see him leave, we know what Albuquerque knows: great urban superintendents are hard to come by.”

“Winston will leave the Wichita Public Schools in an extremely strong state,” she said. “We all – the Board and community – owe it to the nearly 49,000 students in our district, their parents, our staff and our citizens to continue building on that strong foundation and keeping our eyes on the future.”

Dietz said that the Board is also committed to the $350 million bond issue. “It was never about the superintendent, it’s about the needs of our facilities and what’s best for our kids,” she said. “Those needs are still there.”

The Board will soon begin the process of finding a new superintendent. Dietz said the Board will be careful and thoughtful in its search to make sure they find a superintendent who will continue the vision of education for Wichita.

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Bond issue will build 60 new safe room storm shelters

Students at Stanley Elementary practice a tornado drill in the hallway. Stanley doesn't have a safe room. Photo by Susan Arensman

One part of the $350 million bond issue would build 60 safe room storm shelters. Severe Weather Awareness Week is March 10 - 14. As students practice during the state-wide tornado drill on March 11, some students will go to their school's safe room while most students will shelter in place in hallways, locker rooms and rest rooms. Currently, there are 36 schools with safe room storm shelters.

“A safe room is on top of the list for my parents,” said Julie Bettis, principal at Stanley Elementary. Bettis previously was the principal at McCollom Elementary, which has a safe room. Stanley does not.

“You just don’t feel nearly as confident during a tornado warning if you’re not in a safe room,” she said. “Back at McCollom, I felt very secure because I knew my students were safe. Plus they are all in one place, instead of in hallways throughout the building. It helps make sure all of our students are safe and accounted for.”

“The Wichita Public Schools has been recognized as a nationwide leader in the construction of safe rooms,” said Julie Hedrick, Director of Design and Construction. “We have been made even more aware of the importance of adequate shelters after tornadoes hit schools in Greensburg and in Enterprise, Alabama last year.”

The Wichita Public Schools had three schools that were hit by two separate tornadoes in 1999. Jefferson Elementary was struck by a tornado on April 5, 1999. Greiffenstein Special Education Center was destroyed and Chisholm Life Skills Center was heavily damaged on May 3, 1999. All three schools now have safe rooms. Staff say having a safe room brings peace of mind.

 

Jefferson Elementary was hit by a tornado in 1999. It was the first school to have a safe room constructed. Photo courtesy Jefferson

Jefferson staff remember the day the school was hit. The tornado damaged much of the building and destroyed the portable classroom where a few students had gathered to eat breakfast before school. No one was injured.

“If the tornado had hit just 30 minutes later, our school would have been filled with kids,” said P.E. teacher Terri Ruland. “What would have happened if there were more children? We still shudder to think about that.”

Besides building safe rooms, the bond issue will construct additional classrooms to accommodate growth in key areas of our community; support the end of busing for desegregation with renovations to schools in the AAA area to provide equitable facilities, and renovate or rebuild aging and unsafe fine arts, physical education and athletic facilities.

More information about the bond issue can be found on the district's website.

It's about Our Kids, Our Schools, and Our Future!

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CARE campaign begins effort to support schools
Citizens Alliance for Responsible Education (CARE), a private group of citizens, gathered together on March 8 to begin a grassroots effort to advocate for the May 6 bond issue vote. More than 150 parents and citizens gathered to learn more about the bond issue and how they can inform the public about it.

"We have to get the correct message out there," said Board of Education Vice President Lynn Rogers. "Some have been spreading wrong information about the bond issue, and it's up to us to educate the public and give them the facts."

"You have to continuously invest in your home, we need to do the same for our schools," said John Jenkins, CARE committee member. "If we have new and upgraded schools in our community, our home values will go up. With upgraded schools, more families will move into neighborhoods. This benefits all of Wichita."

"Let's do it now, before our problems get worse," Jenkins said.

By law, Wichita Public Schools’ employees can educate the community about the bond issue, but not advocate a position on the bond issue while on the clock. An employee can advocate while acting as a private citizen.

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David Parks tours Gordon Parks Academy

David Parks, second from left, receives a tour of Gordon Parks Academy. Accompanying him on the tour from left is Marketing and Communications Director Wendy Johnson, principal Stephanie Stovall and Design and Construction Director Julie Hedrick. Photo by Susan Arensman

David Parks, son of Gordon Parks, toured the school named after his father on March 4. Principal Stephanie Stovall and Design and Construction Director Julie Hedrick gave Parks a tour of the new school currently under construction. Parks was in town to view Wichita State University's recently-obtained collection of Gordon Parks' works. The tour of the school was a part of his visit.

Parks remarked that the school was beautiful. “Dad would have loved this.”

Parks and Stovall discussed having Parks donate sculptures and photos of his father for the school to display.

Parks said he couldn’t wait to come back to see the school complete. He said he would like to meet with the students and share stories about his father.

“That would be wonderful,” Stovall said. “I know the kids would really enjoy that.”

Gordon Parks Academy will be a neighborhood magnet with half of the seats reserved for neighborhood students who apply to attend; the other half will be for students across the district who apply through the magnet school program. Deadline to apply is March 26.

The district intends to apply for Gordon Parks Academy to be a primary years and middle years International Baccalaureate program. The curriculum will be delivered to all students who attend the school. More information about Gordon Parks Academy can be found on the school’s website. 

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Cat-a-Van visits schools

The Cat in the Hat gives high-fives to Kelly students during the Cat-a-Van stop at their school. Photo by Susan Arensman

Students at Kelly Liberal Arts Academy and Franklin Elementary had a special visitor to help celebrate Read Across America. The Cat in the Hat visited schools on March 5 to share the message: You’re never too old, too wacky, too wild, to pick up a book and read with a child. The visit was part of NEA’s Cat-a-Van, a national tour celebrating the joys of reading and Dr. Seuss’ birthday.

Every student received Cat in the Hat hats during a special presentation. Representatives from NEA’s Executive Committee read Dr. Seuss stories to students. One committee member, Michael Billirikas, walked through the crowd to at Kelly to ask students, school staff and parents to read aloud pages from Dr. Seuss’ book, “Fox in Socks.”

The schools were also presented $1,000 checks to purchase books for their libraries.

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