Cessna is a neighborhood school that's an important part of our community which includes residential housing, restaurants, a library, various religious denominations and recreational and athletic facilities.
Cessna has an all-day kindergarten program as well as two half day Pre-Kindergarten programs. Other programs include a Reading First Grant focusing on the 5 Big Components of Reading: phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension and fluency. Cessna is the home of the elementary visually impaired program for USD 259. Cessna prides itself on having great teachers who are committed to individualized instruction to ensure the highest level of academic achievement for our students.
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Achievement Highlights
Cessna has been awarded grants the previous two years to enrich our library with literature.
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Directions
Exit east Kellogg onto I-235 South. Go south to Seneca exit. Go south on Seneca to 45th Street. Go west on 45th to Cessna. See Maps for all USD 259 locations.
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Mission
The mission of Cessna Elementary is to provide the highest quality research based education. We engage our students through rigorous, standards based curriculum. Student progress will be continuously monitored through multiple measures to ensure growth toward mastery of standards. Based on this monitoring, instruction will be adjusted for individual student needs.
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Campus Improvement Program
- All students will demonstrate growth in reading comprehension and vocabulary across the curriculum.
- All students will demonstrate growth in math computation and problem solving across the curriculum.
- All students will demonstrate growth in the use of writing skills across the curriculum.
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Site Council Information
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: Third Thursday of the month
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Conference Room
Chairperson: Tracy Hahn
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Programs
- School-wide Title I Program
- Pre-Kindergarten Program
- Pre-Kindergarten Developmental Delay Program
- Visually Impaired Program
- Reading First Grant
- Family Activity Nights
- School-wide expectations of respect and dignity
Kindergarten
Pre-Kindergarten Program: Two sessions, a.m. and p.m.
All-Day Kindergarten: 9 a.m. - 4:10 p.m.
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Student Activities
- Parent University
- Computer Lab
- Technology-rich classrooms
- Integrated Curriculum
- Differentiated Instruction at all levels
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School History
Enterprise School District 15 was organized in 1875 with half a dozen or so pupils. It was one of the first schools organized in the rural areas of Sedgwick County.
The school house was first located on the corner of Broadway and MacArthur Road. Church was held in the building and, according to old timers, a number of men jacked up the structure one Sunday afternoon after church in 1880 or 1881 and moved it to the present location of Enterprise School, 3612 South Seneca. The work was done before the opposition could get an injunction to stop them. The Court House, of course, was closed.
The school enrollment has grown rapidly since its beginning and has required several building additions to keep pace with the enrollment. A new building at 2101 West 45th Street South was constructed in 1960 to house fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grade students. The new school was named Enterprise South.
In 1963, District 15 was annexed to the Wichita Public Schools, and the district was divided to accommodate pupils from grades kindergarten through six. Enterprise South was renamed Clyde V. Cessna in 1964 in honor of the man who pioneered the manufacture of aircraft in Wichita.
Cessna School maintained an enrollment of approximately 550 students until sixth grade became a part of middle school in 1988, leaving an average enrollment of 350 K-5 students. The community is quite mobile, as the attendance center includes four large mobile home courts which house almost one-fourth of the student body.
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.
Cessna's Bond construction included a new addition with two classrooms and a library, as well as renovations for other classrooms and the student support area. The district entered into an agreement with Architectural Innovations L.L.C for this part of the Bond project. In April, 2003 the District entered into a contract with E.W. Johnson, Inc. in the amount of $2,391,300 to complete the bond project renovation and addition according to the plans and specifications prepared by the architect.
Cessna's Bond project dedication ceremony was held August 19, 2004.
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