New Kansas education laws will allow private school and home-schooled students to access more publicly funded resources and will create a new scholarship for adult learners in high-demand fields.
Wichita Public Schools
Posted inAccountability, Education, Health
A surge in fake pain pills is fueling a deadly epidemic among Wichita’s teens
What does youth fentanyl overdose look like? In Sedgwick County it often looks like parents finding their teenager dead in bed — or a toddler dead on the floor, fentanyl pills scattered next to him. That’s not supposed to happen. Parents expect kids at home to be safe, not at risk of the No. 1 […]
Posted inEducation
Do metal detectors at Wichita public high schools make students feel safer?
The following article discusses school shootings and drug use. Editor’s Note: On Sept. 2, 2022, our high school correspondent Joyce Davis, a sophomore at South High, was walking to class after lunch when she suddenly saw students running and someone yelling, “Someone has a gun!” It was quickly determined there was not a gun being […]
Posted inWichitans You Should Know
Kansas songwriter Toby Tyner tells story behind ‘Already Gone’
The best version of Kansas songwriter Toby Tyner’s mom lives in the lines of a song he wrote a year ago. That the song is called “Already Gone” hints at how long that version of her lasted. Where and how his mother lives today is something wholly different. But before you can hear that story, […]
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, Kansas State Government
How Kansas lawmakers want to change K-12 education in 2023
Among dozens of Kansas education bills filed in 2023 are proposals to adjust how public schools are funded or make it easier for families to send their children to private school.
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?