The Beacon is charting a path that not only incorporates community voice and how that shapes our reporting but also holding people in power accountable and engaging with people that way through civics.

When Edgar Palacios, president and CEO of The Latinx Education Collaborative (LEC) and Revolución Educativa (RevEd), shared that they were hosting a Kansas City Kansas Public School (KCKPS) Board Candidate Forum for USD 500 At-Large we knew this was a great opportunity to co-host and make this information available to a shared audience.

Community members gathered Oct. 13 to hear KCKPS board candidates speak directly about what matters most: how students learn, how schools feel, how families are welcomed and how dollars are spent. The evening moved briskly through four themes geared towards student success, safe and supportive schools, family engagement and fiscal stewardship.

The KCKPS Board Candidate Forum was a nonpartisan community conversation with five of the six candidates: Sheyvette Dinkens, Wanda Brownlee Paige, Pamela Penn-Hicks, Joycelyn Strickland-Egans and Rachel Russell. The sixth candidate, Josh Young was not present. The forum was moderated by Liz Salas, director of strategic impact at the Wyandotte Health Foundation. 

Student success

Several candidates framed student success as broader than test scores, grounding their answers in basics and possibility. 

Others urged multiple paths and measurable success through academic growth, career exploration, arts and extracurriculars and a willingness to update what success looks like as students’ needs evolve. 

A recurring thread was student engagement by showing young people what is possible, measuring progress in more than one way and keeping the focus on learning that sticks. 

Russell said that student success means “making sure every student has what they need to be successful, and that looks different for every student.”

“You’ve got to show that you care, you’ve got to give the kids hope,” said Paige when asked about what tool they would advocate for regarding student success. “I remember once I had a teacher say we weren’t going to do anything, probably just work in a factory. So I just took a deep breath. I’m sorry that’s what you think of me but my parents have taught me that I’m somebody and I have a gift and something to offer to the world. And that’s what I try to do when I talk. I’m here for you, we can do this.”

Safe and supportive schools

Mental health, respectful climate and consistent responses to bullying were mostly mentioned during this segment. Salas noted that in recent years mental health has been a growing concern in schools. Candidates largely agreed that feeling safe physically, emotionally and culturally is a prerequisite to learning. Several emphasized listening and early intervention, calling for trusted adults, counselors and clear follow through when concerns are raised. 

One community-centered idea drew nods across the room, “These kids should be able to walk in here and not be afraid somebody’s going to bully them,” said Paige. The overall message from candidates is that safety is daily work and depends on relationships as much as procedures.

Dinkens said she has been advocating for a mental health tool box for students that allows students to request support through their phones. She also mentioned supporting tailgates for teachers. “Sometimes it’s those little things that get people through,” she said. “We think about teacher burnout and it’s because we’re asking them to do too much with few resources.”

Family engagement

Candidates mentioned working in partnerships with open engagement and getting the parents more involved, noting being more inclusive with tackling language barriers and meeting them where they are at.

Candidates called parents and guardians critical to student progress. Penn-Hicks mentioned bringing parents and the community back into the process in a holistic way. Candidates also mentioned accessible communication and shared decision making on issues that affect students daily. 

Penn-Hicks connected engagement directly to outcomes, noting that “parent and community engagement is critical to our student success.” The throughline was dignity and inclusion. Families are not just audiences to inform but partners to empower from classroom volunteering and advisory groups to transparent updates on progress and challenges.

Fiscal stewardship

Fiscal stewardship in education means wisely, ethically and efficiently managing public resources (money, property, people) to achieve student achievement goals and ensure the long-term financial stability of the school system. 

Candidates discussed program audits, transparency dashboards and the need to align budgets with student outcomes, not just operational checklists. Dinkens mentioned that starting early to figure out what the needs are, the top priorities and including student and parent voices will give them the best options with regards to what the budget cuts are and how it is spent.

Strickland-Egans mentioned spending on staff, salaries and benefits, and student intervention by providing tutoring to ensure students are on grade level.

“We have to think outside the box. We need to have things for parents that are in the evenings or on the weekends so that parents are able to come,” said Strickland-Egans when talking about transparency regarding budget cuts and spending.

Overall, candidates had some shared priorities when it came to literacy, belonging, transparency and partnership while keeping students at the center, welcoming families and making schools a safe place. The candidate, overall, expressed the notion that the community expects a board that measures what matters, listens when concerns are raised and links every decision back to a student’s day in school.

Additional resources

• To read more about where KCKPS board candidates stand on vaccines, taxes and pronouns click here for English and Spanish.
• A live broadcast of the KCKPS Board Candidate Forum can be found on RevEd’s Facebook.
• Do you want to be civically engaged or learn more about how to be civically involved? Submit an interest form to join The Beacon’s Documenters.
• KCKPS board meetings are generally held on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 5 p.m. and only once a month on certain months. Please visit the school board site for more information.
• You can call the KCKPS central office at 913-551-3200 or contact the board’s clerk, Leslie Smith, at Leslie.Smith@kckps.org.
• For information on board activities or to meet individual board members, you can call the Office of Board Services at (913) 627-2652.

If you have a story idea or would like to co-host a forum or listening session let us know on our website or email our community manager at estrella@thebeacon.media.