With the primary election results in, the candidate lineup for the 2023 general election in Wichita has taken shape. There will be 16 candidates total spread across seven races: Wichita mayor, City Council Districts 2, 4 and 5; and USD 259 school board Districts 3 and 4 as well as the at-large seat. To help […]
USD 259
Posted inEducation
Know your rights: Your child’s school must communicate in a language you understand
Report cards, parent-teacher conferences, handbooks, permission slips. If parents and guardians don’t speak the same languages as their child’s teachers and staff, those routine school communications get more complex. But language shouldn’t become a barrier to families understanding nuances of their children’s education. Guidelines from the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights as […]
Posted inEducation
Can new teachers sustain enthusiasm amid Wichita teacher shortage? One educator’s story
Wichita Public Schools started the 2022-23 school year 100 teachers short — a trend that matched many school districts across the country. Many teachers reported burnout and dissatisfaction with their jobs. Older teachers retired early while stressed, early-career teachers sought new professions, leading to the Wichita teacher shortage. The state of Kansas started to pass […]
Posted inDIY Democracy, Education
DIY Democracy: How to run for school board in Wichita
When you want to run for a spot on the Wichita Unified School District 259 Board of Education, there is a lot to dissect, understand and complete.
Posted inEducation
Safety, teacher retention and ‘school choice’ are on the minds of Wichita teachers in 2023
The Wichita Beacon asked the vice president of United Teachers of Wichita, Mike Harris, to talk about what changes teachers want to see. School choice, safety, teacher retention and staff shortages were all brought up as concerns at the forefront of teachers’ minds.
Posted inEducation
Who should be the next superintendent of Wichita schools? You get a say.
Dr. Alicia Thompson will officially retire at the end of the 2022-23 school year as superintendent of Wichita Public Schools. The search for her replacement is in its early stages and there is still time to provide input.
Posted inEducation, Elections
Historic change comes to Wichita school board representation, and more may be coming still
After decades of push, USD 259 is changing their school board elections after two-thirds of voters voted to do so.
Now, each of six districts will vote on their own representative. A seventh board member will still be elected at-large.
However, more change may be on the way.
Posted inCivic Engagement, Education, Elections
How did we get here? School board ballot initiative has roots in century-old fight
On Nov. 8, Wichita voters will get another pass at an issue they last voted on 28 years ago – how Wichita school board members are elected in USD 259. The central issue, however, goes back a century.
The concern is the same now as then: Does allowing the entire city to elect school board members from each part of the city disenfranchise certain groups? Would it be better to allow voters from a smaller geographic district to choose their own representative?
Posted inCivic Engagement, Education
Wichita school board elections might violate Voting Rights Act, federal ruling in Georgia suggests
“It is an example of a court finding that the type of procedure that Wichita uses to be a violation of the Voting Rights Act,” Jackson said. “It has some value, some authority, that these types of arrangements might be suspect … it shows that they might be diluting minority voting rights.”
Posted inEducation
Pandemic learning: Federal money allows Wichita Public Schools to invest in summer programs
More than 2,800 students participated in the daylong summer programs that ran through June. Participating students in kindergarten through eighth grade regained knowledge they had lost, according to pre- and post-summer school assessments of their math and language skills. And nearly all parents of participating children felt teachers were well-prepared and made the experience fun for their children.