Adams Elementary School

Adams is located in a large residential area in east Wichita with access to community resources such as the Wichita Public Library, Wichita State University, parks and recreation centers and the Great Plains Nature Center. This neighborhood school offers pre-kindergarten, all-day kindergarten, a before- and after-school program, Bigs in Schools through Big Brothers and Sisters, gifted, mentor program, and tutoring partnerships with various neighborhood churches. Adams students also have the opportunity to utilize the latest in technology: red cat, palms, clickers, airliners, SMART and Interwrite Boards as well as creating Power Point presentations with laptops and LCD projectors. Students also have the opportunity to create a weekly broadcast that is aired throughout the building.
 

• We teach, model, practice and reward students who exhibit the following character traits: Respect and Responsibility, Cooperation and Compassion, Honesty and Trustworthiness, Fairness and Self-Discipline.
• Students are rewarded with Caught in the Act slips, Eagle of the Week lunch recognition and Super Star Assembly.
• Students are recognized for their academic and citizenship skills in the form of an assembly quarterly.

Exit east Kellogg at Oliver. Go north on Oliver to Ninth Street. Adams is on northeast corner. See Maps for all USD 259 locations.  

Adams' staff, students, families and community will work together to assure mastery of educational standards utilizing data from on-going assessments to monitor instruction and academic progress. We will develop effective intervention plans so no child is left behind.

Vision

Adams' staff, students, parents and community will create systems that align learning resources to assure the highest student achievement, provide a safe learning environment and build community partnerships.

Reading Goal:  Adams 3rd-5th grade students will improve their reading achievement specifically in the areas of text structure, retelling and plot so that at least 83.9% will demonstrate proficiency as evidenced by scoring at the meets standard level or above on the 2010 Kansas State Reading Assessment.

Math Goal:  Adams 3rd-5th grade students will improve their math achievement specifically in the areas one and two step real world problem solving and data so that at least 81.3% will demonstrate proficiency as evidenced by scoring at the meets standard level or above on the 2010 Kansas State Math Assessment.

Writing Goal:  100% of Adams students will improve their writing skills with particular emphasis in the areas of conventions, organization and sentence fluency. 100% of the Adams teachers will become more proficient in using the Writer's Workshop model and Step Up To Writing Curriculum as evidenced by increased scores on district writing samples and the Kansas State Writing Assessment.

DIBELS Goal:  100% of Adams students will increase their DIBELS scores with particular emphasis in Nonsense Word Fluency and Oral Reading Fluency as evidenced by the end of the year benchmarks.

Each school has a site council, which is a group of parents, community members, business representatives, teachers and other school staff. Site councils identify, consider and discuss educational problems and issues at the school. Councils provide advice and counsel for evaluating state, school district and school site performance goals and objectives. Councils may also recommend methods that may be employed at the school site to meet these goals and objectives.

Meeting Day: Four times a year
Time: 5:15-5:45 p.m.
Location: Library
Chairperson: Therese Wohler (973-2650)


PTO (Parent/Teacher Organization)

Meeting Day: 3^rd Tuesday of the month
Time: 4:45 – 5:15 p.m.
Location: Library
Chairperson: Therese Wohler (973-2650)



 

• Adams operates with the YMCA to offer safe child care from 6:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. for schoolage students.
• A Pre-Kindergarten Program provides early intervention with developmentally appropriate activities in a half-day learning experience.
• We offer an excellent special education program for students qualifying for interrelated services and gifted education programs.
• Adams provides additional English instruction and support for students who speak another language other than English.
• WATCH D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students) is a safe school initiative of the National Center for Fathering that involves fathers and father figures to help create a more safe and secure learning environment.
• The Reading is FUNdamental (RIF) program provides literacy opportunities for all students.
• Straight talk addressing issues that are pertinent to 5th grade students as they transition to middle school.

Kindergarten

Pre-Kindergarten Program:
     Morning Session 9 - 11:50 a.m.
     Afternoon Session 1:10 - 4:00 p.m.

All-Day Kindergarten: 9 a.m. - 4:10 p.m.

• Student Council and Junior Safety Patrol provides leadership for students in grades 4 and 5.
• Eagle of Week program recognizes students weekly for positive choices.
• Super Star Student program recognizes students who exhibit specific character traits each quarter.
• Wichita Student Technology Leadership
• Student, staff and parents meet in the gym at 8:50 to promote school spirit and morale every Friday morning.

The original white frame county school house in the area, Cook Hill School, was located at what is now the northeast corner of Ninth and Oliver. The school had only one teacher and approximately 10 students. In 1924, the county replaced the white frame building with a four-room, red brick school house at the northwest corner of Ninth and Oliver. In 1927, the white frame county school was acquired from the county through condemnation and annexation to the city of Wichita. The school was renamed Samuel Adams Elementary School. Joy Steele, later Mrs. J.A. Hendrickson, was the first principal.

Because in 1927 the Cook Hill Rural District had built a replacement just across Oliver Street to the east for the one annexed to Wichita, it became necessary to find a new name for the Wichita school. After considering many names, Samuel Adams was selected by the Board of Education in December 1929. Samuel Adams was an early day statesman from the state of Massachusetts.

The present building at 1002 North Oliver was opened on December 5, 1948 with 500 children in Wichita's first postwar building. The structure incorporated most of the latest improvements in school design and planning. Its 15 rooms, including 13 regular classrooms, one kindergarten, a library and an activity room, were a far cry from the one-teacher school of 1926. By 1949, the enrollment necessitated Adams students to attend in shifts and the old, white frame building (affectionately known as the "Little White House") was used as a classroom and a workroom until Carter Elementary was completed. Once again, in 1951, the students attended in shifts until the completion of Murdock Elementary school. During that time, portables were moved on the grounds.

In 1958, Adams was one of four Wichita elementary schools to receive a grant from the Ford Foundation to participate in an educational TV project. The Foundation paid for the building of a multipurpose room because it was needed to show closed circuit TV to large groups of 60-80 students. The program lasted three years and, as a result, Adams had a room for PTA meetings, assemblies, programs and P.E.

The pupil population in the district dropped steadily over the years; however, with the implementation of the integration plan the enrollment was stabilized at approximately 300 pupils, with about 33 percent of these being minority.

In 1981, all windows were replaced with thermal pane steel windows. In 1984, the office was remodeled.

At the beginning of the 1988-89 year, sixth grade students were incorporated into the middle school program and boundary lines adjusted, leaving a K-5 enrollment of approximately 225 students, with about 20 percent of those being minority.

In April 2000, the voters of the Wichita School District approved a $284.5 million bond issue. The projects began in the fall of 2000 and were completed over the next five years. The plan built 19 multipurpose rooms, upgraded science labs, replaced portable classrooms with permanent construction, improved handicap accessibility to all buildings, rebuilt five existing elementary schools, added a new elementary and middle school, expanded seven other elementary schools and provided nine new libraries as well as the expansion of nine others. Building infrastructure in 82 buildings was also upgraded, including the replacement of antiquated plumbing, updates and expansion of electrical systems, replacement of inefficient or broken windows and doors, upgrades of heating and cooling systems, and asbestos abatement when required.

Adams received upgraded infrastructure, a new addition which included eight classrooms, renovations including student support classrooms, a library and restrooms on the 2nd floor. The total estimated cost was $2,064,000. On November 27, 2000, the Board authorized the district to enter into an agreement with the architectural firm of Jeff Krehbiel & Associates for $177,400 for phase 1B of the bond issue project.

On September 10, 2001, the Board of Education authorized the district to enter into a contract for the amount of $2,749,500 with E.W. Johnson, Inc. to complete the construction project. The Adams' bond project was completed and the dedication ceremony was held May 20, 2003.