By Mark Tallman

Basehor-Linwood USD 458, a growing 3,000-student district in southeast Leavenworth County on the outer ring of suburbs west of the Kansas City metro area, is significantly exceeding expectations for student outcomes. 

The district serves comparatively few low-income students and students with disabilities: an average total of 29.8% from 2015-2024. These students often have greater academic challenges. KASB developed a formula to compare district performance to expected outcomes based on the percentage of high-need students and enrollment. 

Based on data through 2024, Basehor-Linwood exceeded expected outcomes for state assessment scores, graduation rates and postsecondary success, both for the most recent year and change over time, by 4.9%. That result ranks second among 54 public and private school systems with between 1,600 and 10,000 students. This indicates that the district is high-achieving even when its population is taken into account. 

The district did especially well in two areas. Most districts declined in the percentage of students at benchmarks on state reading and math tests from 2017 to 2024, especially during the COVID pandemic. But for Basehor-Linwood, the percentage at Level 2 or higher increased 5.4%, which was 8.2% higher than expected; and the percentage at Level 3 or higher increased 5.5% , 9.6%  higher than expected. 

From 2018 to 2022, Basehor-Linwood’s postsecondary effective rate declined 2.6% , but that was 10.1%  higher than expected as most districts had a larger decline over that period when college enrollment dropped sharply during COVID. (The postsecondary effective rate is the percentage of each high school senior class that graduates on time and has either completed an industry-recognized credential, a technical certificate or academic degree, or is enrolled in a postsecondary program two years after graduating.) 

I met with 30 educators, district leaders, parents and community leaders in two sessions to learn about how they are getting these results. Here are the highlights. 

Changing how teachers teach and students learn. Basehor-Linwood leaders were clear: better outcomes depend on a system that better meets student needs. “It’s really easy as the adult and the professional to say this student didn’t score well because they didn't study hard enough or shift the blame for low grades more toward the student,” said high school principal Erin Morrison. “These last few years, we really looked at ourselves and thought, how can we meet these kids where they are, instead of them meeting us?” 

One answer has been a greater focus on relevant real-world experiences to help students remain engaged in their learning and graduate with a broader range of skills. This includes the district’s Innovation Academy, which allows students to earn core and CTE (career technical education) credits through projects chosen by the student and supported by a teacher, to address a problem for a community “client” from a local business, nonprofit or community organization. “Those clients are community members. The students see real-world applications of the issues tied to the content they are learning,” said Amanda Riley, Director of Innovative Programs. “We’ve got really great data to show attendance and discipline getting better, test scores improving with students in these programs.” 

The innovation initiative grew out of the district’s participation in the Kansas State Board’s School Redesign Project. With success at the high school level, the district began expanding these concepts to the elemenatry level and to Pre-K. “Our teachers are giving the students those opportunities to learn hands on, through real projects, through real problems that they're able to solve using those critical thinking skills, starting at a very, very young age,” said Riley. “They are interacting. They're empathizing. They're communicating with others. They are learning so many skills, not just academically, but social and emotional skills at a very young age.” 

Emphasis on Student Options. Basehor-Linwood leaders say they made progress in postsecondary success, even during the drop in college attendance during COVID, by promoting a wide range of choices. “We talk about successful, high-achieving students going to college, but we have a cohort that doesn’t quite fit that,” said high school math teacher Jessica Weick. “We have a partnership with Kansas City Kansas Community College for tech programs that have been a huge success for students who want to be more hands on. We offer so many programs that no matter if you're going to college, or you're going tech, or to work, I think students of all levels in our high school feel ownership in their education.” 

District leaders also point to the district's embrace of technology, noting they were the first school district in Kansas to launch a virtual school, which is staffed entirely by district teachers using its own curriculum. Brian Habjan, a parent and member of the Basehor-Linwood Education Foundation, noted that the district’s familiarity with online learning and providing devices to all students reduced the impact of COVID. “Because our kids were already used to getting all their assignments, getting all their stuff turned in via their computer or via their iPad, we didn't lose a lot of learning time, not to the levels that other districts did.” 

Strengthen teacher collaboration and professional learning communities (PLCs). Basehor-Linwood teachers say they have been able to implement positive changes in student learning by working together and credit district leaders for providing a structure through PLCs – groups of teachers working together to improve data use, teaching and student success. 

“It allows us within departments or across different departments to collaborate and talk about the academic needs of our students,” said high school math teacher Weick. “Rather than waiting until state assessment scores or MAP test scores are out, we are focusing on what's currently happening in the classroom, what initiatives need to be made to help students. I think that we as a staff are very good at supporting each other, and we have administration that's there to help us take risks and make changes that are needed for students to have success.” 

The current use of PLCs began in 2021, with the district providing training and support. The effort complements work on the curriculum framework and assessments, as well as the district’s Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) program. MTSS provides effective curricula for all students (Tier 1), individualized remediation or enrichment based on student needs (Tier 2) and more intense assistance for students with the greatest needs, such as special education (Tier 3).  

“In the last four years, we've really become intentional with those group meetings, dedicating that time, providing better resources for that time and using data,” said Basehor Intermediate Principal Baileigh Faler. “It's not just another time in the schedule. We're really dedicating that time, making sure it's purposeful.” 

“It's also not just reaching those students that are in those low percentile groups,” said Glenwood Ridge Elementary Principal Jenny Stoops. “We're really trying hard to look at how we can expand learning for those students who are high achievers, and that's really where I think our innovative programming and our innovative learning has really come into play. It's filling in those holes for those kids that are at the bottom tier but also pushing those kids who are high achievers even higher.” 

Elementary principals say they restructured the daily class schedule to prioritize time for personalized work with students based on their needs. The middle school uses data to automatically enroll students in intervention classes or enrichment activities when appropriate. The high school has the BLART (Basehor-Linwood At-Risk Team) and a student intervention team (SIT) to monitor student progress and develop responses if students are falling behind. 

Educators also praised the work of the special education department in providing equal opportunities for students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), and for working with all teachers in addition to working directly with individual students to meet their needs. They also cited an expanding district early childhood program for giving young students a strong foundation for K-12. 

Focus on and celebrate success. The district is also doing more to promote and recognize academic success. Aaron Eusterwiemann, a parent of several high school students and a former school board member, noted that he, other parents and the district itself have long been eager to “show off” success in sports through social media and other communications, but tended to be more modest about academic performance, like high test scores. That’s changing, he said. “Over the past five years, we’ve tried to make it cool to be part of a successful group. Because I think kids strive to match other kids. I guarantee you, kids on the track and field team doing high jump know exactly what that record is.” 

Growing and supportive community, open to new ideas. Finally, parents said the district’s academic success is supported by a growing community that places a high value on educational success. They suggested that the influx of new residents may encourage patrons to be more open to educational innovation to improve learning, while maintaining a “small town” feel in the two communities within the district.