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LATEST NEWS
Universal free school lunch is gone in USD 259, but here’s how to find out if you still qualify
Before the pandemic, Wichita schools operated under a system that allowed parents to apply for free or reduced-cost meals. USD 259 will be using this same system once again, but this time it’s only for lunches.
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Local students receive community college scholarships through Kansas Promise
When Melissa Farrar enrolled in WSU Tech’s nursing program, she paid for her first semester out of pocket. Then she heard other students talk about the Kansas Promise Scholarship, which offers free community or technical college to students pursuing degrees in high-demand fields. Through this scholarship, Farrar’s past two semesters have been paid in full.…
Kansas rural families, parents of toddlers face a shortage of licensed child care providers, report says
Kansas is facing a severe shortage of licensed child care providers, according to a recent report released by state and nonprofit agencies. Estimates show that less than half of the “potential demand” in the state is being met. The 2021 Supply Demand Report released Thursday covers the challenges child care providers have faced during COVID, the diminishing…
Open enrollment, childhood literacy included in Kansas’ $6.4 billion education budget
Kansas lawmakers did not include the additional $30 million in special education funding Gov. Laura Kelly requested.
Lawmakers want to expand eligibility for free community college in Kansas
Less than a year into offering free community college for Kansas students in some high-demand fields, the state legislature is proposing adjustments to expand access. While 663 students received the Kansas Promise Scholarship during the first semester of the new program, according to an early 2022 report to the Kansas Legislature, nearly 75% of those who applied didn’t receive an…
‘Black Friday in August’: Kansas lawmakers hope to pass new school tax holiday
To compete with neighboring states, some Kansas legislators want to host a back-to-school sales tax holiday. Under a proposal in the Kansas Senate, SB 432, school-related sales of clothing, clothing accessories, school supplies and instructional materials, art supplies, computer software, school computers and computer supplies would be exempt from sales taxes for four days in August. …
Kansas lawmakers file bills about transgender athletes, remote learning, vaccines and parents’ rights
Proposals also include back-to-school tax holidays and benefits for retired teachers.
Vaccine mandates, teacher pay and scholarships: Kansas education bills to watch
Kansas legislators have introduced more than a dozen bills regarding K-12 and higher education in 2022, covering topics such as teacher pay, COVID vaccines and course materials. The Kansas Legislature went into session Jan. 10 and lawmakers will likely continue to add new legislation to the list. The mix of education-related legislation also includes some…
This program is helping more Kansas students graduate, and it’s expanding
Tony Evans stands at the entrance to his Wichita Heights High School classroom each morning and greets each of the nearly 40 students in his Jobs for America’s Graduates – Kansas classes. He makes small talk with some or jokes to get the attention of others – especially when the students might not be fully…
Students are back at Wichita colleges, but the COVID-19 picture remains murky
It’s Olivia Compton’s sixth spring semester in college, her third in the COVID-19 era and her first at Friends University. At this point, she has an air of having seen it all, even as the omicron variant shatters what looked like the light at the end of the tunnel for the pandemic during the fall…
Cutting through ‘the chaos’: What happened at Wichita’s school board meeting on Monday
The Wichita Board of Education is off to a rough start for the new year. The board had been set to ceremonially swear in three new board members and one incumbent at its first meeting of 2022 on Monday at Wichita North High School. But that meeting never happened after the three new board members…
Why Wichita USD 259 is fast-tracking repairs to this 99-year-old high school
Wichita East High School students and teachers are back to class for the spring semester, but some of them are returning to different classrooms. After discovering structural issues in the building’s science wing in the fall, school officials are shuttering the wing’s 18 classrooms until repairs can be completed. Teachers from those classrooms are continuing…
School lunch is a food and people business. Wichita USD 259’s challenge is finding either.
Rows of racks in Wichita USD 259’s vast School Service Center on Hydraulic Street in northeast Wichita are the second-to-last stops before distribution to the district’s dozens of schools. In the adjacent industrial kitchen, pizzas roll through conveyor-belt ovens, while enormous mixers pipe mashed potatoes into a machine that seals the food into large plastic…
Wichita teens want a bigger voice in meeting their mental health needs
Editor’s note: We updated this story on Dec. 20 to show that Truc Dao and Andrew Le are director and vice director of Students Empowerment, respectively, and members of ICTeens in Mind. One of the things Truc Dao has relearned in 20 months of high school during the pandemic is how to catch her breath.…
How you can snag a spot for your student at one of Wichita’s magnet schools
Students are wrapping up the fall semester at Wichita USD 259, but enrollment for the 2022-23 school year is already starting for the district’s 24 magnet schools. The district’s magnet program offers schools that focus on subjects like science, leadership and performing arts, with some specializing even further into fields like aerospace engineering and health…
A KU Wichita Pediatrics pilot program brings health care into schools, and it’s keeping students in class
Editor’s note: We updated this story on Dec. 8 to clarify that Krista Weaver is an advanced practice registered nurse. On Dec. 9, the story was updated to clarify that KU Wichita Pediatrics operates the school-based clinics. There’s no telling who or what Krista Weaver will see every day in her classroom-turned-clinic in Haysville USD…
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