Serving Kansas City (Wyandotte County) Kansas for over 50 years!
A single-vehicle accident was reported this morning on I-70 southbound in Wyandotte County.
According to the Kansas Turnpike Authority trooper’s report, a 2008 Pontiac sedan was traveling south on I-70 about 2:55 a.m. Jan. 15 when it lost control, struck the right wall, crossed over the highway and struck the left wall.
The accident location was between K-7 and 110th Street on I-70.
The driver, a 28-year-old man from Overland Park, Kan., was not injured, according to the report.
The National Coalition for Core Arts Standards has chosen Arrowhead Middle School in Kansas City, Kan., to be a part of its Model Cornerstone Assessment Pilot Project.
Partially funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, Model Cornerstone Assessments are a component of the new National Core Arts Standards.
They were developed to demonstrate the type of standards-based evidence needed to show student achievement in the arts – dance, media arts, music, theatre and visual arts. Arrowhead will complete a pilot assessment in theatre.
More than 260 schools and teachers applied to participate in the pilot. Approximately 15-18 pilot sites were chosen for each discipline. The sites were chosen based on the strength of their application, the teacher’s credentials and experience, and the support of the school’s administration.
Additionally, as part of the selection process, the professional arts service organizations and members of the NCCAS Media Arts leadership committee considered how to best create a diverse cross-section of urban, suburban, and rural schools from across the nation.
William Brame, theatre teacher at Arrowhead, applied to be a part of the pilot because he wanted his students to have a voice in how the performing arts are delivered to them and others.
“I think the kids at Arrowhead are a great model for what young people are capable of when given the opportunity. It is also fun to show off what our kids can do,” Brame said.
Through the pilot, Arrowhead students will have access to the latest research in performing arts assessments. It also will help support literacy in the theater classroom by providing high quality model units and demonstrating how they enable critical thinking in students.
Brame will begin professional development training in the Core Arts Standards and the MCAs this month, in order to prepare him to pilot the tasks in his classrooms in February. Student work will be collected and benchmarked during the summer for archiving on the NCCAS website.
Individuals and organizations interested in the project can follow the work or obtain more details as it unfolds, including a list of the states participating by geographic region, on the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards wiki at http://nccas.wikispaces.com.
– Story from Kansas City, Kan., Public Schools
State Sen. David Haley, D-4th Dist., and State Rep. Gail Finney, D-84th Dist., are planning a rally in the Topeka Capitol rotunda today to support the passage of a medical marijuana bill.
Sen. Haley is the sponsor of the Cannabis Compassionate Care Act, Senate Bill 9. Rep. Finney is the sponsor of a similar measure, House Bill 2011. The rally is scheduled for 1 p.m.
During the day, patients and their caregivers plan to lobby legislators in Topeka. Among the patients are children and adults who have severe seizure disorders such as Dravet Syndrome, the most severe form of epilepsy. The Epilepsy Foundation supports access to medical marijuana for epilepsy patients.
The bill quotes medical studies that state that marijuana has a therapeutic value in treating a wide array of illnesses, such as cancer and glaucoma, and its use has encouraged patients to finish their treatments for HIV-AIDS and hepatitis C. Under the legislation, marijuana could be prescribed by doctors.
Two groups, Bleeding Kansas and Kansas for Change, are among those supporting the medical marijuana bill. Almost half of the states now allow medical marijuana.
In a recent newsletter, Sen. Haley stated that he had introduced this bill in previous sessions but it had not received a committee hearing yet.
“Given the revenue shortfall Kansas faces and the support from voters in 24 other states and the District of Columbia, I remain upbeat that 2015 may mean change for ‘Senate Bill 9,’” Sen. Haley stated.
The bill is in the Health and Public Welfare Committee,
www.kslegislature.org/li/b2015_16/measures/sb9/.