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The Kansas City, Kansas, Board of Education will meet at 2 p.m. Friday in a remote meeting to choose the firm that will conduct a search for its next superintendent.
The board met Oct. 29 and 30 in interviews with three firms that are applicants for the opening. The applicants were the Kansas Association of School Boards, Bakertilly and JG Consulting.
The remote meeting today will be online at www.kckps.org.
Past meetings are online at https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=kckps.
After losing 18 students to violence during the past year, the Kansas City, Kansas, Board of Education says, “Enough is enough!”
In a proclamation read at Tuesday night’s KCK school board meeting, vice president Wanda Brownlee Paige said the board and school district are asking students and the community to commit to the issue of stopping violence. Blue ribbons will be placed throughout the community to show their support of ending violence.
The statement read by Paige at the board meeting Tuesday night:
“We as members of the Kansas City, Kansas School Board want to discuss a growing problem within our community. To be transparent, over the past year our district has lost 18 of our students. Students who would be focused on their futures: heading to college, their first job, and so much more. While not every tragedy was caused the same way, the majority of our students have died due to gun violence, in fact eleven students in less than a year.
“Today, we the board declare “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.” We along with the entire school district are asking all of YOU to commit to the future of our students, to commit to speaking up when something is wrong, and to commit to making a difference.
“This is not just a Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools issue, this is a community issue that we know by working together we can change the outcome of. That is why we are asking not just families and students to sign our pledge for change but for members of our community to join us in making an impact in the lives of our students. You can find the pledge by visiting enough.kckps.org
“Soon you will start seeing blue ribbons pop up around our community. That ribbon is just one sign to remind each and every one of us of the commitment we are entering into. In the coming weeks, the district will be announcing additional projects to help curb the violence, educate our families and students, and promote student involvement in leading the change.
“We thank you for your commitment, and we ask that each of you stay safe.
“Sincerely,
Randy Lopez- Board President
Wanda Kay Paige- Vice President
Maxine Drew
Dr. Valdenia Winn
Janey Humphries
Yolanda Clark
Dr. Stacy Yeager”
Later at Tuesday night’s meeting, which was a remote meeting on Zoom, the school board approved a memorandum of agreement with Future Leaders Outreach Network, Young Leaders of Distinction, program that will help provide students with skills to become effective leaders and make healthy choices. The program has already been operating in the district.
The program is free to the school district and is funded by federal grants, according to Dr. Diana Clemons, who is with the program.
The program emphasizes several skills and has goals including preventing drug use, alcohol use, tobacco use, violence, bullying, teen pregnancy, and encouraging career exploration, goal setting, increasing self-worth and self-esteem, as well as self-regulation. In addition, the program promotes job readiness, character and leadership development, financial literacy and entrepreneurial skills.
Randy Lopez, board president, said this is the exact type of partnership they spoke about when they discussed the initiative and pledge earlier in the evening, to help them reach young people and curb some of the violence.
Paige said she applauded Dr. Clemons, a former graduate of the school district, for taking the time and energy to come back and make the district better.
The Kansas City, Kansas, Board of Education on Friday afternoon reviewed responses to a request for proposals for a search firm for a new superintendent of schools.
The board, in a Zoom meeting at 4 p.m., decided to interview potential search firms on Thursday and Friday of next week.
The district received three proposals, according to Randy Lopez, board president.
The board also discussed what it would look for in a candidate, with some board members saying they would like to see a search firm from Kansas or Missouri.
Board member Stacy Yeager said she would like the search firm to be a firm run by minorities. If the firm is not from this area, it will not be received as well by the local community, she said.
Lopez said whether the company is minority owned or not, it appears that diversity is one of the board’s priorities, and the company should prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion in their work. It is also important that there is a good fit with the community.
Yeager was concerned that they not set anyone up for failure, if the community is not accepting of firms that are not from Kansas or Missouri.
Board member Janey Humphries said all three firms seemed to be qualified, and she wanted to hear all their presentations and ask questions.
Each of the proposals has a way that the community may comment included in their proposal, according to board members.