Five Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools will be recognized with the Challenge Award for making a difference in student achievement.
The schools include Argentine Middle School, Arrowhead Middle School, Bethel Elementary School, Emerson Elementary School and Frank Rushton Elementary School, according to a school district spokesman.
They are recognized for outstanding achievement on the 2019 math and reading assessment results, according to the spokesman.
The award is presented by the Kansas State Board of Education.
It highlights the academic achievement of students in schools despite the significant socioeconomic challenges they may face in their lives, the spokesman stated.
“I wholeheartedly believe that all children can learn, and it doesn’t matter the socioeconomic background,” Dr. Charles Foust, KCKPS superintendent, said. “Teachers are making a significant impact on our students, and they are showing us that they can learn.”
He praised talented students, teachers and paras.
“What we see now is the rewards coming through our students. I believe, and I know through the development of our teachers and students, we are on track,” he said.
In addition to specifically the sample size, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, there were several other qualifying factors used to identify Challenge Award honorees.
• A statistical model is used that includes 2019 math and reading state assessment scores, percent of the sample that received free or reduced-price lunch, and the percent that was a member of an ethnic minority. Graduation rates and chronic absenteeism are factors, too. The top 100 Kansas schools are then selected.
• Only schools that have a total percentage of free and reduced-price lunch students above the state average of 45.7 percent are eligible for recognition.
• The schools are then sorted into the State Board of Education districts.
“Congratulations!! I am so proud of each school for receiving this recognition,” Janet Waugh, vice chair of the Kansas State Board of Education, said. “I have always said KCK USD 500 is a wonderful district offering students amazing educational opportunities. These awards confirm my belief.”
- Story from KCKPS