From late July until mid-September, nearly 4,000 Kansas attended at least one of 50 community meetings to discuss what K-12 students need to learn to be successful adults, and what schools need to do to give them those skills. The largest group of participants were K-12 educators, but comparable numbers identified as community members, businesspeople, school board members, higher education staff, and students from both K-12 and college.
It was a huge commitment of time from Kansas Education Commissioner Randy Watson, Deputy Commissioner Brad Neuenswander and all 10 members of the State Board of Education – and it was critical because it will take communities across Kansas to make the educational improvements under discussion
Those attending overwhelmingly agreed with two conclusions from a similar series of meetings in 2015.
First, the definition of a successful student should be more than passing “subject area” courses and tests. It should build on academic skills (such as reading and math) but also include a student’s ability to use or apply those skills in the “real world,” plus both personal skills (such as work ethic, perseverance, self-discipline) and interpersonal skills (such as teamwork, speaking and listening, empathy) that help people succeed individually, as members of a community and in the workforce.
Second, to make this happen, schools must change in important ways: more available early childhood programs to help students start school on a more even basis; more attention to social and emotional needs that can hinder learning; education that is more personalized to each student, more flexible and more relevant to the student and family’s needs and goals; and stronger partnerships with business, communities, and families.
Each meeting allowed participants to submit suggestions on what was needed to accomplish these goals. While it will likely be several months before this information is compiled and analyzed, after attending 40 of the 50 meetings, here are my thoughts on next steps.
Clearly define the vision and plan.
The State Board of Education has adopted the vision that Kansas leads the world in the success of each student. It adopted five outcomes to be measured: social-emotional growth measured locally, kindergarten readiness, individual plan of study based on career interest, high school graduation and postsecondary success; and added two other measures for accreditation and recognition: academically prepared for postsecondary and civic engagement.
The board has also adopted a school redesign program with four “principles:” (1) Student success skills that integrate academics with social-emotional growth, (2) family, business, and community partnerships; (3) personalized learning that supports more student choice in time, place, pace, and path; and (4) real-world applications that include project-based learning, internships and civic engagement make learning relevant.
The board has a number of related initiatives. My own experience is that it can be difficult to quickly explain the entire vision and plan, especially to non-educators. It would be helpful to pull all these key components into a single statement or “resolution” explained in simple terms aimed at parents and community members.
Widen the circle of knowledge and support for this vision.
Four thousand is a lot of people, but it’s just a fraction of 80,000 educators and school employees, half a million students and their families, and nearly three million people who live in Kansas and depend on a strong school system.
All of these groups will have to help make changes to improve that system – and none of those changes will be easy (or they would already have been done). The fact is many students do well and many adults are comfortable with the current system. Change will require support from teachers, school staff and parents plus the broader community.
Here are some ideas for building on the momentum of 50 community meetings. Commit to sharing the information more broadly at the individual school level, with site councils, teacher organizations and parent group and meetings. It would be relatively easy to replicate the commissioner’s message in each school. Use district communication media to explain the vision. Present information to local business, civic and social groups. Ask local and state organizations to formally endorse the Kansans Can vision statement.
It is critical that communities understand and embrace the idea that these changes will help more students become more responsible, employable and self-sufficient, with stronger engagement in their communities and providing the skills Kansans to advance.
Adopt both short-term and long-term goals to achieve this vision.
The State Board has set ambitious long-term goals for graduation rates and postsecondary success, but a long journey begins with a single step. Here are some suggested goals for the next several years. These are my thoughts. Districts will be using their own data for goal-setting as part of the school accreditation system.
Academically Prepared for Postsecondary. State assessments have been flat since 2015, were skipped in 2019 and are expected to be lower in 2020 because of lost learning time and other factors due to COVID. Supported by additional state funding and federal COVID money, we can begin the recovery by increasing 2021 state assessments over 2020.
High School Graduation. Reach the highest graduation rate in Kansas history for the class of 2022, by meeting or exceeding 90% statewide and a high mark for every subgroup by improving in each district.
Postsecondary Success. Set a record for the number of Kansas students taking the ACT or ACT WorkKeys this school year; continue efforts to increase high school students participating in concurrent enrollment, dual enrollment, and Excel in CTE programs.
Social Emotional Growth. Report the highest number of K-12 teachers, student support and instructional support staff, and of students participating in mental health programs or partnerships.
Kindergarten Readiness. Set a record for Kansas children in high quality preschool programs and in the percentage of students entering kindergarten academically and social-emotionally ready for school
Individual Plan of Study. Improve this program for students using the State Board’s Star Recognition criteria.
Civic Engagement. There are countless ways schools could promote civic engagement, and the annual state and local election cycle of is a great opportunity. Districts could commit to student voter registration activities, promote participation in the Kansas Secretary of State’s Students Serve program to help local election officials at the polls, and other volunteer activities.
Accelerate sharing ideas of how schools can begin to implement this vision.
It’s clear from the community conversations that there is strong support for the ideas of broadening the definition of student success and adopting schools to achieve it. Although many schools have begun to implement some of these changes, leaders are looking for ways to move faster.
KSDE and state organizations like KASB can work hard to identify and share successful programs, as well as ideas that haven’t worked out. Local school leaders can commit to making time to learn about and consider these changes. For example, school boards could schedule a standing agenda item to discuss how they might implement those school redesign principles.
Examine whether changes in state policies would support this vision or detract from it.
Finally, where there are many changes schools and districts can take on their own, we need to study whether any state laws and policies are barriers. For example, the State Board has set up a task force to study state high school graduation requirements and is considering whether the current system based exclusively on Carnegie units in subject areas effectively supports the skills students need.
Likewise, new proposals concerning education, whether in the State Legislature, State Board of Education or Board of Regents, or at the local level, should be evaluated based on whether they support the vision, goals, and principles.
Additional settings for Safari Browser.
