School Highlights: Points of Pride:
Gordon Parks Academy enrollment on target
 |
| Gordon Parks Academy will open to students in the fall. |
First-round letters of acceptance for 2008-2009 magnet school applications have been mailed to parents. Enrollment at the new Gordon Parks Academy for the fall is what district officials expected. Assistant Superintendents Kathy Busch and Alicia Thompson and principal Stephanie Stovall gave a report to the Board of Education about the progress being made at the school.
After the first round of applications, kindergarten, fifth- and sixth-grades are full. There are 170 students selected from the AAA neighborhood and 206 students selected from across the district. The smallest numbers of students are in seventh- and eighth-grade, which was expected because many middle school students don’t want to leave one school in the middle of their career to go to another. But there are enough students selected to fill classes.
 |
| The K-8 school's enrollment is on target with district officials' expectations. Photos by Susan Arensman |
“As we learned from opening Stucky, we don’t want to open the school at capacity and have no room to grow,” said Superintendent Winston Brooks. “We will build up the upper grades during the next few years and I am confident that school will be at capacity soon.”
The second-round of acceptance letters will be mailed in the summer.
The hiring of teaching and support staff at Gordon Parks Academy is almost complete as well, with only a few positions vacant. The teaching staff has an average of nine years teaching experience. Only two teachers that have been hired are new teachers and years of experience range up to 41 years of teaching experience. The diversity of the staff is 58 percent Caucasian and 42 percent minority.
“This shows a great balance and is reflective of our student population,” Thompson said.
Gordon Parks Academy will welcome students for the first time in August.
Top
Clinic at Gordon Parks reaches fundraising goal
 |
| A GraceMed Clinic is being constructed as part of Gordon Parks Academy. Photo by Susan Arensman |
One feature of the new Gordon Parks Academy is GraceMed Clinic. The privately-managed clinic is being constructed as part of the school and will provide medical and dental services to children and adults in the area. David Sandford, Executive Director of GraceMed; Russ Meyer, Chairman Emeritus of Cessna, and John Moore, former Lt. Governor of Kansas announced that the clinic had reached its fundraising goal to pay for the construction, equipment and staffing of the clinic.
“The clinic will be built and operated with no additional cost to taxpayers,” Sandford told the Board of Education.
Along with regular health care services, the clinic will be able to provide school physicals and immunizations. The clinic will also provide dental services to children and adults.
“Studies show the best place to deliver health care for the uninsured and under-insured is at a school,” Sandford said. “We want to make sure all area children have access to quality health care so they can be successful in school and in life.”
GraceMed began its partnership with the district when it opened a clinic at Lincoln Elementary in 1995. A similar partnership was established later at Cloud Elementary.
Superintendent transition plan discussed
Superintendent Winston Brooks and Interim Superintendent Martin Libhart shared their plan with the Board of Education to ensure a smooth transition as Superintendent Brooks leaves the district at the end of June. Superintendent Brooks stressed that he is still responsible for making decisions until that time, but he will involve Libhart in those decisions and keep him informed.
While Libhart serves the district as Interim Superintendent, the position of Chief Operations Officer will remain vacant. He will resume his duties as COO after the new superintendent is hired. Libhart said leaving the position vacant for a year will help cover costs that weren’t budgeted for the next year, such as the search for a new superintendent.
Libhart is meeting with certain employees and groups to learn more about some of the issues facing them. He is attending key leadership meetings, budget meetings and discussions on employee negotiations alongside Superintendent Brooks. Libhart is placing commitments scheduled for the superintendent after June 30 onto his calendar.
Certain year-end activities, such as high school commencement ceremonies, will still be attended by Superintendent Brooks.
The Board of Education has scheduled a retreat on June 17 to once again meet with Dr. Michael Casserly, Executive Director of the Council of Great City Schools. The Board will take the feedback it received when they met with Dr. Casserly on April 11, identify pertinent questions and develop responses to these key issues. The board will identify the basic parameters of the search and establish a timeline. The location of the retreat will be announced later.
Top
Superintendent search information available online
Updates on the search for a new superintendent are now available on the Wichita Public Schools’ website, www.usd259.com/news/superintendent+search. News stories about the search, important dates and how to sign-up for email updates on the search can be found on the site.
More information will be added to the site as the search process continues, including information on future community meetings and candidates once they are selected.
Top
Lawrence receives national recognition for reading
 |
| From left: Susanne Smith, Executive Director of Title I; Jennifer Burns, Renaissance Learning; Pam Klos, Lawrence principal; Denise Seguine, Chief Academic Officer; Alicia Thompson, Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Schools and Barb Fuller, Board of Education. Photo by Michael Smith |
Lawrence Elementary was awarded the highest recognition for outstanding performance in reading. The school received Master School Certification in Reading by Renaissance Learning for the school’s use of Accelerated Reader. Lawrence had a celebration on April 30 to mark the school’s accomplishment. A representative from Renaissance Learning presented principal Pam Klos with a certificate for their achievement.
“We have achieved a great accomplishment,” Klos said. “This says so much about our teachers and our students and how they worked hard to reach their goal.”
The school staff set a goal back in August to receive Master School Certification. To achieve this status, all second- through fifth-grade students had to read books on their reading level for 18 weeks and score 90 percent or higher on all of the quizzes about the books. Lawrence reached their goal in February and was the first school in the country to achieve Master School Certification this school year.
The Accelerated Reader program allows students to set reading goals and to choose books that are on their own reading level. The students are tested over the books they read and work towards advancing their skills to the next level.
In 2007, Lawrence and its successful reading program were recognized in the May 2007 issue of Extraordinary Educators.
Top
Emerson student wins Tot Trot t-shirt contest
 |
| Photo by Susan Arensman |
Sailor Suiler, second-grade student at Emerson Open Magnet, had the winning t-shirt design for the Wichita River Festival's Tot Trot. Her design was chosen from more than 1,900 entries. Wichita River Festival representatives and sponsors presented Suiler with a shirt featuring her winning design and other prizes. Her art teacher, Jacquelyn Junkins, also received a $100 gift certificate to support her classes.
Suiler was happy that her design was selected.
"Everyone was drawing pictures of people running over a bridge. I just decided to draw a big foot," she said.
The second-place winner in the design contest was Lydia White, also from Emerson and the third-place winner was Kaedra Brenner from Seltzer Elementary. Prizes were also awarded to the schools with the most entries. Seltzer received $400 for the most entries and Enterprise Elementary received $100.
The Wichita River Festival's River Run and Tot Trot is May 10.
Top
Students celebrate Kansas Kids Fitness Day
 |
| Photo by Josh Bolen |
More than 2,500 third-grade students from every elementary school participated in Kansas Kids Fitness Day on May 2. Students played different outdoor activities on the grounds of Northwest High School to learn how physical activity is important to staying healthy. Physical Education teachers, volunteers and nearly 300 high school students helped coordinate the annual event.
Kansas Kids Fitness Day is sponsored by the Kansas State Department of Health and Environment to promote physical activities and healthy lifestyles. More than 40 districts across Kansas participate each year.
Top
Online Employee Directory launched district-wide
Employees now have access to a new tool that will make communicating with colleagues easier. The new Online Directory can be accessed through the district’s internal portal site and a link under the “I want to” heading.
One benefit of the new Online Directory is that information can be quickly updated. Each building will have a designated staff member trained in updating the work contact information and the published home phone numbers for their employees. Employees who have a change in their home address must still report the change, in writing, to Human Resources.
Employees have several options as to how their personal information is shared. For many years, employees could elect to have their personal information unlisted in the printed directory. With the advent of this new system, employees can chose from the following options:
- Publish personal information – this allows your personal information to be listed in the district’s printed directory and the on-line directory. You will continue to receive calls from Parent Link. No action on your part is required.
- Unlisted personal information – this allows only Human Resources and your building’s administrator to view your personal information. It will not be listed in the printed directory. You will receive calls from Parent Link. If you wish to select this option, notify your building’s administrator.
- Do Not Share personal phone numbers – this allows only Human Resources to view your personal phone numbers, home and cell. You will not receive calls from Parent Link. If you wish to select this option, contact Human Resources.
Employees who have questions about the district’s new Online Directory should contact their building’s administrator.
Top
Kindergarten Orientation is May 8