Hyde International Studies Magnet

Hyde International Studies and Communications Magnet School emphasizes the importance of student achievement with a global approach. Hyde’s curriculum integrates global awareness and communication into the basic curriculum. Through a “Know Your World” format, students explore the geography, history, language and values of various cultural groups and examine their interdependence and contributions.

Hyde offers all-day kindergarten and a before- and after-school program.

Achievement Highlights

Exit east Kellogg at Oliver St. Go north on Oliver to 1^st St. Hyde is on the northeast corner. See Maps for all USD 259 locations.

The mission of Hyde International Studies and Communications Magnet School is to establish educational excellence for all students. A safe, supportive, nurturing environment is provided by a partnership of professional educators, parents, students and community through an international studies and communications curriculum.

1. All students will demonstrate growth in reading comprehension across the curriculum.
2. All students will demonstrate growth in math problem solving and computation skills.
3. All students will demonstrate growth in writing skills.

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: Second Tuesday of September, November, January, March, and May
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: Hyde Library
Chairperson: Natalie Moyer

Global awareness and communications are integrated effectively throughout the basic curriculum. Through a "Know Your World" format, students learn of the contributions, history, language, geography, interdependence, and values of various cultural groups. Three to four networked computers offer Internet communication opportunities in each classroom in addition to a mobile wireless laptop computer lab.

Kindergarten

Pre-Kindergarten Program: None
Half-Day Kindergarten: None
All-Day Kindergarten: 9 a.m. - 4:10 p.m.

Hyde’s United Nations, a student council group, enables students to develop leadership qualities by sponsoring school, community and worldwide service projects. Ongoing projects are school beautification, food drives, nursing home visits, foreign pen pals, American Red Cross, recycling and acting as tour guides for magnet visitors.

The A.A. Hyde Elementary School was completed in late 1929 and opened for classes in early February 1930 with seven of its nine rooms in use. A late winter blizzard presented many problems to the students in getting to and from the new school. The area between Oliver and Eastborough was open prairie.

The school was named for Mr. A.A. Hyde of Metholatum fame, a Wichita well-known for his philanthropic work and deep interest in the youth of the city. He reserved space on his large lawn for baseball diamonds so every boy in the neighborhood would always have a place where he could play ball. He provided many underprivileged children with opportunities for summer camp.

Mr. Hyde was quite interested in the new school and visited it frequently. On one occasion he presented the boys of the school with a picture of himself fishing from a raft on Beaver Dam near his lodge in Estes Park. He held the picture up and asked who they thought it was. The third grade boys shouted, “Robinson Crusoe!”

Mr. Hyde was the honored guest at the first Open House held on May 2, 1930 by the recently organized PTA with Mrs. Otto Souders as president. This was an active group which grew in numbers as the school enrollment increased. The PTA helped with many projects for the benefit of the school, such as the establishment of a library.

The first addition to the school, consisting of an auditorium and tow classrooms, was build in 1938. Continued growth made it necessary to divide the auditorium into classrooms. A second addition in 1948 was built which included four classrooms, a health room and kitchen. Even so, the library which had been established in 1938 was moved to the north corridor so the room it had occupied could be used for another classroom.

The year of 1951 brought Hyde a “double shift” program when the primary students from the new Munger School were housed in the Hyde School until the Munger building was completed. Further relief from overcrowded conditions came with the opening of Fabrique School. Peak enrollments of 500-plus in the early 1950s dropped to a more comfortable 425-450 in the late 1950s and early 1960s. In recent years the enrollment has been from 300 to 350.

Trees and shrubs on the grounds were planted by the departing sixth graders each Arbor Day except for the large Austrian Pine which stands near the west entrance. Mr. Alfred McDonald of the Park Board planted this six- to seven-foot high tree in the fall of 1931 to use as an outdoor Christmas tree.

The Dwight D. Eisenhower Centennial Tree was planted in the fall of 1991. The seedling was donated to the school by KG&E and came from the mother tree which stands on the Eisenhower lawn in Abilene, Kansas. It stands near the building on the northwest section of the campus. It bore its first redbuds in the spring of 1995.

The school became Hyde International Communications Magnet in 1991. Global awareness and communications is integrated throughout the base curriculum.

At the November 10, 1997, Board of Education Meeting, representatives from the Hyde Site Council proposed the construction of a new multi-purpose room for their school. Funding for this project would be provided through a partnership between the district and the parents, staff and supporters of Hyde. Based on the estimated cost of $500,000 for this project, the proposal presented to the Board involved a total of 75% ($375,000) to come from district capital outlay, with remaining 25% ($125,000) from fundraising by the school and supporters. The duration of the fundraising efforts was anticipated to be two years. On June 8, 1998, Board of Education signed the Hyde Multi-Purpose Room Funding Partnership Agreement.

On June 4, 1999, Hyde exceeded its goal of $125,000. The district retained Wilson Darnell Mann Architectural/ Engineering firm for construction of a hardened "safe" area for the multi-purpose room addition.

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.

The Board of Education approved contracts with architects Wilson Darnell Mann, P.A., and with Bauer and Sons Construction Co. to complete this addition and renovation project. Hyde received an expansion to the library, the student support area was moved to the main floor, restrooms were updated, and a new addition that included two classrooms was added.

Hyde’s 314 students entered the brand new multipurpose room for the first time in April of 2001 and on September 25, 2001 the Multipurpose Room Dedication was held.