Menu
Janet Waugh, 83, the longest serving member of the Kansas State Board of Education, passed away on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025. She was first elected in 1999 and retired from the board in 2023.
After several years with no program, music once again fills the halls of Girard Middle and High School thanks to the vision and leadership of former Girard student Meredith Reid.
Reid, who earned a bachelor’s degree in music education and a master’s degree in music from Kansas State University, was hired by the Girard district to reestablish the choral music program that was nonexistent when she herself attended the school years earlier. In just five years, she has developed an award-winning program that competes regularly in state competitions and performs throughout the Girard community.
Members of the Kansas State Board of Education at their January meeting in Topeka received an update on the structured literacy requirements certain educators will have to meet beginning in 2028 to renew their teaching licenses.
Kansas Education Commissioner Dr. Randy Watson told board members that more than 12,000 educators, mainly at the elementary level, have completed or are in the process of completing structured literacy training in Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling® (LETRS®), a state-approved program. Other approved training programs include Keys to Literacy and AIMS Pathways to Proficient Reading.
As recently announced by Kansas Lt. Gov. David Toland, all fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade students in your school this week should begin receiving complimentary copies of KANSAS! Kids, a new magazine created especially for young Kansans, just in time for Kansas Day on Jan. 29.
The Kansas State Department of Education’s website and email domains have changed from “.org” to “.gov.”
The Fiscal Year 2024 annual reporting survey for Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds opens Tuesday, Jan. 21. The deadline for submission will be March 7.
The Kansas State Department of Education is continuing its partnership with IXL Math for the 2025-26 school year. IXL Learning provides schools with a free supplemental instructional program that can help Kansas students improve their math skills.
Districts with professional development (PD) plans expiring on July 31, may turn them in to the Kansas State Department of Education starting April 1, but no later than Aug. 1.
Click here for the timeline and the list of districts that are part of this year’s review. KSDE staff will send an email with instructions and other information to the districts by the end of January.
2025-26 School Improvement Day schedule announced
The KSDE Accreditation and Design team has released the 2025-26 School Improvement Day schedule and is available on the KESA webpage. While the dates are expected to closely align with - if not exactly match - this year's schedule, the Accreditation and Design team will confirm any changes as needed.
The Preschool-Aged At-Risk Program provides school districts with funding for preschool-aged students. In districts operating approved programs, 3-and 4-year-old students who meet an at-risk criterion for the Preschool-Aged At-Risk Program and who are enrolled and attending on Count Day will automatically count as a ½ student (0.5 FTE) in calculating a district’s enrollment and accompanying weightings. Districts are encouraged to create integrated programs that include all students and to develop strong community partnerships.
Engaging with families to build strong relationships during children’s transition into kindergarten is a key strategy to prepare children, families, and schools for a successful start to the kindergarten year.
The KSDE Child Nutrition and Wellness (CNW) team will be hosting a required procurement training for School Nutrition Program (SNP) sponsors on Jan. 22.
Per the Child Nutrition Program Integrity Final Rule, school nutrition program directors, management, and/or staff who work on procurement activities must complete procurement training annually. For the 2025-26 school year, all sponsors must complete procurement training by June 30.
Two training events are scheduled in the coming weeks for how to submit the Licensed Personnel Report (LPR) and Spring Vacancy Report (SVR) in the Educator Data Collection System (EDCS). This training will be geared toward “EDCS beginners”, but anyone can attend.
A three-part series of virtual trainings focused on young learners and strategies to address behavior in the early childhood setting will be offered in the coming months using the ECHO model of tele-mentoring. This professional development opportunity is hosted by Telehealth ROCKS of the University of Kansas-Medical Center.
Early childhood professionals, caregivers, community members working to support local child care efforts, and anyone with an interest in child care in Kansas are invited to join a regional roundtable event to share your experiences with child care in your region.
Registration is now open for the following third and fourth quarterly meetings for administrators of Local Consolidated Plans (LCPs).
If interested in a FastBridge session listed below, but are unable to join, use the Newsletter Engagement Form to request additional dates and times using option #5.
Each FastBridge district can request an administrator workshop on topics such as onboarding, data reviews and more. Schedule it by using the form and select option #6.
16: Kansas Preschool Pilot grant application due. Contact Natalie McClane, natalie.mcclane@ksde.gov, or Amanda Petersen, amanda.petersen@ksde.gov, with questions.
17: English Language Arts training, ESSDACK, Hutchinson. Register here. Contact Dr. Laurie Curtis, laurie.curtis@ksde.gov, with questions.
17: English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)/Title III needs assessment survey due. Contact Emily Scott, emily.scott@ksde.gov, with questions.
18: Deadline to register for Innovate Next Steps: Pre-K-12 Learning conference, Feb. 8, at Bethany College. Click here to register. Contact Alan English, englishAE@bethanyLB.edu, or (785) 227-3380, with questions.
Members of the Kansas State Board of Education will receive an update on the structured literacy training requirements for licensure during their monthly meeting, Jan. 14-15, in Topeka.
Fellow Kansans,
Forty years ago, KANSAS! magazine launched a children’s edition titled KANSAS! Too, which sparked curiosity and inspired young readers across the state for more than a decade. As one of those young readers, the magazine ignited my passion and deep love for our state.
Today, I am excited to carry that legacy forward by introducing the next chapter: KANSAS! Kids.
As part of the second iteration of the Kansas Education Systems Accreditation process, known as KESA 2.0, districts and school systems are attending regional School Improvement Days during the 2024-25 school year with three to four other like systems.
These days are facilitated by Kansas educators who have been trained and volunteer their time to help their colleagues understand what is required for KESA 2.0 accreditation. They guide those attending the School Improvement Days through a broad review of their district-level data, including assessment scores.
The Kansas State Department of Education’s website and email domains will change from “.org” to “.gov” this month.
Districts that have opted into the KSDE and IXL Math contract to receive IXL Math at no local cost are required to provide data on math practice twice a year for the 2024-25 school year.
The Educator Data Collection System (EDCS) is open for submission of the Licensed Personnel Report (LPR) and Spring Vacancy Report (SVR). The LPR is due on March 1. The SVR will be submitted within the LPR.
Students who have risen above the challenges of life situations by exiting foster care and entering into permanent guardianship after the age of 13 have the opportunity to apply for a scholarship through Umps Care, a nonprofit organization founded by Major League Baseball umpires.
The KSDE Information Technology team will host a webinar with Ronnie Williams, coordinator of instructional resources at Greenbush Education Center, 1 p.m., on Jan. 15, to explore the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence (AI) in education.
The KSDE Accreditation and Design team will be hosting the KESA virtual monthly update, 10:30 – 11:15 a.m., on Monday, Jan. 13.
All Kansas elementary schools are required to partner with families to complete the Ages & Stages Questionnaires®, Third Edition (ASQ-3) and Ages & Stages Questionnaires®: Social-Emotional, Second Edition (ASQ:SE-2). These tools provide a snapshot of children’s developmental milestones. As caregivers know their children best, they complete both questionnaires before school staff share and discuss the screening results.
New School Nutrition Program (SNP) directors and managers are invited to join the KSDE Child Nutrition and Wellness team for the spring Jump Start training, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., on Jan. 30, in Salina. This training opportunity is for those with less than three years of experience.
Renaissance has consolidated their legacy customer support systems for all products into a new, comprehensive system. As of Jan. 1, all support requests are handled via the new system to provide a more seamless experience for all cases for a customer’s account.
All Renaissance support emails, website addresses, and phone numbers will remain unchanged so customers can continue to access support with no downtime in service.
Upcoming FastBridge virtual trainings:
January
9: KSDE offices closed for National Day of Mourning.
9: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Clean School Bus Rebate Program applications due by 5 p.m. CST. Click here for more information. Contact CleanSchoolBus@epa.gov with questions.
9: English Language Arts training, Orion, Clearwater. Register here. Contact Dr. Laurie Curtis, lcurtis@ksde.org, with questions.
13: Structured literacy training, Greenbush, Girard. Register here. Contact Dr. Laurie Curtis, lcurtis@ksde.org, with questions.
13: KESA virtual monthly update, 10:30 – 11:15 a.m. Click here to join the Zoom. Contact accreditation@ksde.org for more information.
14: Science collaboration for curriculum leaders, virtual, 4-5 p.m. Register here. Contact Stephanie Alderman-Oler, salderman-oler@ksde.org, with questions.
14-15: Kansas State Board of Education meeting. Click here for the agenda and meeting materials.
Key dates for this transition:
The Educator Data Collection System (EDCS) is now open for submission of the Licensed Personnel Report (LPR) and Spring Vacancy Report (SVR). The LPR is due on March 1. The SVR will be submitted within the LPR.
The 2024-25 Kansas Seal of Biliteracy guidelines and spreadsheet for uploading student data have been posted on the KSDE Seal of Biliteracy website.
Important for this year: Districts will upload the student information spreadsheet to a secure drop box. Please do not email the spreadsheet to KSDE. The person submitting the spreadsheet for the school district will need to create an account and then upload the spreadsheet.
As of Jan. 1, educators are required by state regulation to meet one of the two options below to add an English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) endorsement to a license. Educators will qualify for waivers as they complete course requirements for either option.
This virtual session will cover key AI concepts, real-world applications in today’s classrooms and ethical considerations. Discussion will include how AI can personalize learning, automate tasks, and enhance educational research.
The Kansas Education Data System (KEDS) production environment is ready, according to KSDE Information Technology staff.
Student Information System (SIS) vendors have been made aware and those who are certified will begin the process of onboarding their districts with KSDE. Certification involves a live transfer of data from the SIS to the KSDE test environment where KSDE IT staff can validate all expected data elements are coming through appropriately.
New resources and updated guidance will be shared during the monthly virtual office hours in 2025. The first office hours of the new year will be 3-4 p.m., on Jan. 8.
Systems will have the opportunity to get feedback and ask questions about their Kansas Education System Accreditation (KESA) 2.0 action plans and hear about newly available resources.
The KSDE Accreditation and Design team will be hosting the KESA virtual monthly update, 10:30 – 11:15 a.m., on Jan. 13.
New School Nutrition Program (SNP) directors and managers are invited to join the KSDE Child Nutrition and Wellness team for the spring Jump Start training, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., on Jan. 30, at the Smoky Hill Education Service Center, in Salina. This training opportunity is for those with less than three years of experience.
A “What’s New with HirePaths?” webinar has been scheduled for 12-1 p.m., on Jan. 8. Click here for the Zoom link.
HirePaths introduces Kansas kids of all ages to high demand jobs our state will need in the future. Materials are free for educators and families to use.
Veteran educators, anyone considering a career in education, and anyone in between is invited to Bethany College’s education conference, on Feb. 8.
The deadline to register is Jan. 18.
Attendees will have an opportunity to earn graduate credit, obtain professional development points, collaborate and network with other educators, and learn more about a career in education.
Renaissance has consolidated their legacy customer support systems for all products into a new, comprehensive system. As of Jan. 1, all support requests are currently handled via the new system to provide a more seamless experience for all cases for a customer’s account.
8: Science collaboration for new science teachers, virtual, 4-5 p.m. Register here. Contact Stephanie Alderman-Oler, salderman-oler@ksde.org, with questions.
8: KESA 2.0 action plan virtual office hours, 3-4 p.m. Questions can be submitted within 24 hours of the virtual meeting by completing this survey. Click here for the Zoom link. Contact Hayley Steinlage, hasteinlage@ksde.org, with questions.
8: HirePaths informational webinar, “What’s New with HirePaths?”, 12-1 p.m. Click here for the Zoom link. Contact Kristin Brighton, kristin@newbostoncreative.com, or 785-587-8185, with questions.
In addition to getting help with writing, finding a book for a class or getting tutored, libraries are a vital part of a school’s ecosystem and community at large.
“Libraires are really a refuge for people, for students,” said Tonya Foster, librarian at Topeka High School, Topeka USD 501. “So many people don’t know the true value of libraries. Yes, they are a place where you can get resources and you can get books and you can get music. But it’s also such an incredibly safe place to go and find what you need. There are people there that can help you.”
While the Kansas affiliate organization of the national Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) offers 114 programs in 86 Kansas school districts, the 6,200 students served by the academic and postsecondary preparedness program are anything but numbers.
“You learn a lot about yourself in this program,” said Lilliona Martinez, a student at Junction City Middle School, Geary County USD 475. “Before JAG, I was very insecure and (kept) to myself,” she said. “I’ve learned that you can be more than what people tell you. This program just gives you so many beautiful opportunities to grow as a person and grow as a student.”
As of Jan. 1, educators will be required by state regulation to meet one of the two options below to add an English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) endorsement to a license. Educators will qualify for waivers as they complete course requirements for either option.
KSDE’s Special Education and Title Services (SETS) is requesting anyone directly involved with their building or district’s English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)/Title III program to complete a needs assessment survey by Jan. 17.
The Clean Bus Planning Awards (CBPA) program is open and accepting applications on a rolling basis.
Funded by the Joint Office of Energy & Transportation and managed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), CBPA recipients receive free technical assistance for comprehensive and customized school bus electrification transition plans. Fleets eligible for EPA Clean School Bus program funding are generally eligible to receive CBPA assistance.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) currently has a school bus award opportunity open to districts that own and operate their own transportation fleets.
The Perkins Principles have been developed to support districts as they develop new Perkins consortiums. This document is available also on the Perkins Federal Accountability webpage.
The Educator Data Collection System (EDCS) will open for submission of the Licensed Personnel Report (LPR) on Jan. 1. Districts will have until March 1 to submit their LPR data.
Staff from KSDE’s Information Technology (IT) department have been working to modernize Moodle, the agency's learning management systems (LMS), http://learning.ksde.org. Moodle is an open source LMS that has been used in education for more than 20 years.
The newest cohort of Kansas Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling® (LETRS®) facilitators recently completed training after four full days of in-person professional learning under the guidance of a national LETRS® trainer.
The Kansas Association for Career and Technical Education (K-ACTE) was recognized earlier this month for meeting 2024 Quality Association Standards.
The Kansas State Department of Education is proud to celebrate the success of the most recent group of Kansas Parents as Teachers programs to earn a prestigious endorsement from Parents as Teachers National Center (PATNC) called the “Blue Ribbon Endorsement.” Parents as Teachers programs that earn this endorsement are designated as the top-performing home visiting programs within the Parents as Teachers international network.
The Kansas State Department of Education and the Kansas Parent Information Resource Center (KPIRC) are offering new live virtual trainings to deepen educators’ knowledge of the Ages & Stages Questionnaires (ASQ®).
Engaging with families to build strong relationships and support early childhood development is a key strategy to support young children’s success. The ASQ® questionnaires provide a snapshot of children’s developmental milestones and can serve as a powerful tool to support kindergarten readiness.
The next curriculum leaders meeting will be on Jan. 31, at the Bishop Professional Development Center in Topeka. Register here by Jan. 17.
To streamline the customer experience, Renaissance is consolidating their legacy customer support systems for all products, including Nearpod, into a new, comprehensive system. Starting Jan. 1, all support requests will be handled via the new system to provide a more seamless experience for all cases for a customer’s account.
Reminder: If your district has not used allocated virtual professional development hours, schedule a session from the Professional Learning Catalog by Dec. 31. To check if this applies to your district, watch the recording at the 1:37 time stamp.
You do not need to hold the session by Dec. 31, but you must schedule it before then so that it does not expire.
Contact scheduling@renaissance.com for more information and/or schedule sessions here.
1: Educator Data Collection System (EDCS) opens for submission of the Licensed Personnel Report (LPR). To access EDCS district training resources (including both PDFs and videos of specific EDCS topics), click here: Licensed Personnel. Contact Leslie Bruton, lbruton@ksde.org, or (785) 296–8011, with questions.
The Kansas State Board of Education voted this week to accept the final report of the Blue-Ribbon Task Force on Student Screen Time that outlines recommended guidance for student use of digital technology in schools.
Prior to the vote, Melanie Haas of Overland Park, State Board chair, emphasized the board accepting the report was an acknowledgement of the task force’s work, not an endorsement of the recommendations. The board voted to accept the report and authorized the Kansas State Department of Education to release it to districts.
Jeff Yearout brings conceptual thinking into his classroom at Derby High School, Derby Unified School District 260, helping students think beyond the surface.
Yearout has taught computer science, web design and computer graphics at Derby High School since 2016. He is the only computer science teacher at the school.
“It’s harder, of course, if I’m taking on something new that I haven’t done before and have no built curriculum to look from,” he said. “But I’m constantly recrafting things I’ve done before to adjust it and make it better for students.”
KSDE’s Special Education and Title Services (SETS) is requesting anyone directly involved with their building or district’s English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)/Title III program to complete a needs assessment survey by Jan. 17. Click here to complete the survey.
Respondents include but are not limited to ESOL teachers, paraprofessionals, counselors, instructional coaches, directors, principals, superintendents, etc.
These principles were covered during the Perkins question-and-answer session held in November.
While districts have had access to enter data since Aug. 1, they will now be able to submit that data beginning Jan. 1.
Student data is collected annually for students and youth experiencing homelessness per the McKinney-Vento definition: students and youth lacking fixed, regular or adequate housing. Every fall, a summary document in which the numbers of identified students experiencing homelessness from the previous school year is placed on KSDE’s McKinney-Vento webpage.
Systems can review the KESA application, locate resources, discuss the action plan components and guidelines, and address specific questions.
Questions can be submitted within 24 hours of the virtual meeting by completing this survey. This will assist KSDE staff in preparing a meaningful agenda to address the most frequently asked questions and to develop further supporting guidance.
The educators, representing 15 school districts and two service centers, now can provide Volume 1 LETRS® training to the teachers in their districts/service centers. This cohort of trainers will receive Volume 2 training soon.
According to the national ACTE, “the purpose of the Quality Association Standards (QAS) is to provide benchmarks for state associations to determine levels of performance and satisfactory service to their members and prospective members” and “to prompt states to challenge themselves to improve and maintain the very best possible organization and leadership for their members within the association’s means.”
Child Nutrition Program (CNP) sponsors may request up to $10,000 to support Farm to Plate initiatives that will increase the volume of local foods served as part of child nutrition program snacks and meals. The application deadline has been extended to Dec. 13.
Mark your calendars for the following dates and locations of the 2025 and 2026 curriculum leaders meetings.
Important note: All Renaissance and Nearpod support emails, website addresses, and phone numbers will remain unchanged so customers can continue to access support with no downtime in service. Contact Renaissance Support or Nearpod Support with any questions.
Reminder: If your district has not used allocated virtual professional development hours, schedule a session from the Professional Learning Catalog by Dec. 31. To check if this applies to your district, watch the recording at the 1:37 time stamp. Please note: You do not need to hold the session by Dec. 31, but you must schedule it before then so that it does not expire.
If you are interested in a FastBridge session below, but are unable to join, use the Newsletter Engagement Form to request additional dates and times using option #5.
December
17: Science collaboration for curriculum leaders, virtual, 4-5 p.m. Register here. Contact Stephanie Alderman-Oler, salderman-oler@ksde.org, with questions.
17: Structured literacy training, Smoky Hill, Salina. Register here. Contact Dr. Laurie Curtis, lcurtis@ksde.org, with questions.
18: Science collaboration for science teachers, virtual, 4-5 p.m. Register here. Contact Stephanie Alderman-Oler, salderman-oler@ksde.org, with questions.
19: Transportation basics workshop for transportation directors and supervisors, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Bishop Professional Development Center, 3601 S.W. 31st Street, in Topeka. Register for free here. Contact Keith Dreiling, kdreiling@ksde.org, with questions.
As the largest federal conference aimed at improving the quality and taste of school meals, the Healthy Meals Incentive (HMI) Summit was attended this past fall by hundreds of school nutrition professionals from across the U.S. The Kansas contingent included food service staff members from two school districts.
Members of the Kansas State Board of Education will vote on recommendations for how Kansas students interact with digital technology and social media during their monthly meeting in Topeka, Dec. 10-11.
The Perkins Principles have been created to support districts as they develop new Perkins consortiums. This document can also be accessed on the Perkins Federal Accountability webpage.
KSDE’s Special Education and Title Services (SETS) is requesting that anyone directly involved with their building’s or district’s English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)/Title III program complete a needs assessment survey by Jan. 17.
Every year, student data is collected for students and youth experiencing homelessness per the McKinney-Vento definition - namely, students and youth lacking fixed, regular or adequate housing. Every fall, a summary document in which the numbers of identified students experiencing homelessness from the previous school year is placed on KSDE’s McKinney-Vento webpage.
Districts that have opted into the KSDE and IXL Math contract to receive IXL Math at no local cost are required to provide data on math practice for the 2024-25 school year twice a year.
Two built-in IXL reports will allow you to create and submit your KSDE reporting in just a few minutes.
The Accreditation and Design team will host the KESA virtual monthly update, 10:30-11:15 a.m., on Dec. 9.
Monthly virtual office hours are scheduled in 2025 for systems to get feedback and ask questions about their Kansas Education Systems Accreditation (KESA) 2.0 action plans.
The Local Food for Schools (LFS) grant funds must be spent by Dec. 6, with final report forms submitted to KSDE Child Nutrition & Wellness by Dec. 6.
Child Nutrition Program (CNP) sponsors may request up to $10,000 to support Farm to Plate initiatives that will increase the local foods served as part of child nutrition program snacks and meals. The application deadline has been extended to Dec. 13.
Kansas high school students are invited to participate in a special event, Dec. 9-14, to sharpen their cybersecurity skills while having fun.
Hosted by the Kansas State Department of Education in partnership with EnterpriseKC’s Heartland Cyber Range and Wichita State University, a virtual “Capture the Flag” (CTF) event offers a thrilling, hands-on way to dive into topics like encryption, network security, reverse engineering, and programming. Plus, who knows what other surprises might pop up?
The next Kansas curriculum leaders meeting will be on Jan. 30, at the Bishop Professional Development Center in Topeka.
When the curriculum leaders met on Nov. 15, Caitlyn Sharp of The New Teacher Project (TNTP) discussed the coordination of work they are developing with the Kansas State Department of Education. Her presentation included highlights of TNTP’s newly released report, The Opportunity Makers.
To encourage teaching science in a rural area, Fort Hays State University is offering scholarships to individuals who have earned a bachelor's degree in science and are considering a career in teaching.
This competitive award program will award recipients a $24,066 stipend to complete coursework that will lead to full teaching licensure.
Spanish teachers are invited to a retreat, April 11-13, to immerse themselves in the Spanish language for a weekend.
The objective is to duplicate the experience of spending the weekend in a Spanish-speaking country engaging in pedagogical activities completely in Spanish. Colombia is the theme for the 2025 retreat.
Reminder: If your district has not used allocated virtual professional development hours, schedule a session from the Professional Learning Catalog by Dec. 31. To check if this applies to your district, watch the recording at the 1:37 time stamp. *Please note: You do not need to hold the session by Dec. 31, but you must schedule it before then so that it does not expire.
6: Deadline to apply for the 2025 Heartland Farm to School Institute. Click here to apply no later than 11:59 p.m., CST. Contact Eryn Davis, edavis@ksde.org, (785) 296-5060, with questions.
9: KESA 2.0 monthly Zoom update, 10:30-11:15 a.m. Click here for the Zoom link.
9: Structured literacy training, Southwest Plains, Sublette. Register here. Contact Dr. Laurie Curtis, lcurtis@ksde.org, with questions.
10: Kansas Preschool Pilot (KPP) grant technical assistance webinar, 10 a.m. Contact Natalie McClane, nmcclane@ksde.org, and Amanda Petersen, apetersen@ksde.org, with questions.
10-11: Kansas State Board of Education meeting. Click here for the agenda and meeting materials.
The next virtual office hours for systems to get feedback and ask questions about their KESA 2.0 action plans will be Wednesday, Dec. 4.
Systems can review the KESA application, locate resources, discuss the action plan components and guidelines, and address specific questions they may have.
The week of Nov. 18-22 is American Education Week, a time to celebrate the positive impact of public schools across the U.S. So, why is now an important time to be a teacher? That question was asked recently of several members of the new 2025 Kansas Teacher of the Year (KTOY) team.
As the daughter of a former elementary school teacher, Adlyn Mieras, a senior at Blue Valley West High School, Blue Valley Unified School District 229, said she’s known from a young age she’s wanted to be a teacher because, as a student, she has “wanted to learn all the time.”
“I felt being a teacher and helping others to find that similar passion for learning is something that I’ve always wanted to do,” she said. “I want to be a teacher for a long time.”
Mieras and dozens of other Kansas high school students attended the northeast Kansas regional Educators Rising conference earlier this month where they competed in categories including lesson planning and teaching; TED talks; children’s literature; impromptu speaking; and interviewing. Future Teachers of America Day was celebrated this week, along with American Education Week.
The reporting for Period 1 for incidents of restraint and/or seclusion using emergency safety interventions (ESI) began on July 1 and ended Nov. 20.
District staff should begin entering this data into the Kansas Integrated Accountability System (KIAS) as soon as possible after Nov. 30 but before the submission window closes on Dec. 30.
In an effort to evaluate the impact of KESA 2.0, the KSDE Research and Evaluation team has developed the school improvement process survey to be taken by district leadership teams (DLTs). Completing the survey is required for each DLT member after the system’s action plan has been submitted to KSDE.
The Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) is seeking applications for 2025-26 Kansas Preschool Pilot (KPP) grants to provide preschool services.
Eligible applicants include Kansas unified school districts (USDs) and other entities partnering with school districts. At least 50% of children served by KPP grant funds must meet criteria to be at risk of entering kindergarten socially, emotionally or academically unprepared for success.
Child Nutrition Program (CNP) sponsors looking to advance the local foods served in meals and snacks can apply for up to $10,000 to support Farm to Plate initiatives.
The subgrants are available to School Nutrition Program (SNP), Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), and Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) sponsors for activities like gardening, chicken houses, raising livestock, garden towers and more.
The Heartland Farm to School and Early Care and Education (ECE) Institute was held Nov. 13-15, in Nebraska City. The institute was offered in collaboration with ECE partners from Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.
Three Kansas teams from Clearwater USD 264, Coffeyville USD 445, and Child Care Links, in Hutchinson, and Quality Care Services, Inc., in El Dorado, were chosen from applications submitted to attend the institute.
KSDE is already in the early stages of planning the 2025 Great Ideas in Education conference since the date of the event has been changed to July 27-30, at the Hyatt Regency, in Wichita. Click here to watch a video from this year's Great Ideas in Education Conference: Lighting the Path Forward.
School systems are strongly encouraged to begin planning to send district leadership teams to the annual conference. Learning and collaboration opportunities will emphasize the fundamentals of structured literacy, standards alignment, balanced assessment and quality instruction.
This professional development opportunity is for educators to explore what balanced literacy is and how structured literacy is different.
Attendees will learn the “why” and “how” to make the instructional shifts necessary to teach reading and writing in a way that allows more students to be successful.
During training sessions scheduled for December and January, English language arts (ELA) teachers for grades 3–12 will learn what text complexity is, why complex text is vital to assist in raising the rigor for our students, and how best to scaffold learning using evidence-based strategies. Structured literacy demands teachers present students with appropriately complex texts, explicitly teaching students to grapple with them.
Attendees will practice identifying appropriately complex text for their students and explore how to effectively scaffold to leverage productive struggle and student success.
The KSDE School Bus Safety Unit will host a free transportation basics workshop for transportation directors and supervisors, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., on Dec. 19, at Bishop Professional Development Center, 3601 S.W. 31st Street, in Topeka. Register here.
These workshops will provide a brief overview of the fundamentals and responsibilities associated with the position along with recent updates, changes and developments in school transportation.
In an effort to encourage teaching science in a rural area, Fort Hays State University is offering scholarships to individuals who have earned a bachelor's degree in science and are considering a career in teaching.
By Robert Feeney, Chief Vision Officer, Knowledge as a Service, Inc. (KaaS)
Knowledge as a Service Inc. (KaaS), the Wichita-based company behind Future Ready, has a mission to equip the next generation with vital employability skills by developing programs that reach students and workers across Kansas. The most recent development of the tournament is its Competency Report which provides real-time scoring and badging on vital behaviors.
As of Nov. 18, Jeff Lancial has been supporting Kansas with FastBridge after joining Renaissance Learning in July. His career includes serving as a teacher, coach and administrator in public schools and leading large-scale, high-stakes, statewide assessment programs. He is committed to continuing the great support educators in Kansas received from his predecessor Sheleena Clark. Contact Jeff at jeff.lancial@renaissance.com.
Reminder: Many districts have virtual hours to use to schedule a session from the Professional Learning Catalog. See if this applies to you by watching the recording at the 1:37 time stamp. You do not need to hold the session by Dec. 31, but you must schedule it before then so that it does not expire.
November
30: Data entry for Emergency Safety Intervention (ESI) reports begins. Contact Trish Backman, tbackman@ksde.org, with questions.
3: Kansas MTSS & Alignment preschool team’s standards-based make it-take it event for preschool teachers, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., KU Edwards campus. Contact Lea Harding at lea@kanasmtss.org with questions. (Registration is closed.)
3: Kansas MTSS and Alignment regional reading road show, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Dodge City, Boot Hill Casino & Resort. Contact Vicki Cooper, vicki@kansasmtss.org, with questions. (Registration is closed.)
As the daughter of a former elementary school teacher, Adlyn Mieras, a senior at Blue Valley West High School, said she’s known from a young age she’s wanted to be a teacher because, as a student, she has “wanted to learn all the time.”
Mieras and dozens of other Kansas high school students attended the northeast Kansas regional Educators Rising conference earlier this month where they competed in categories including lesson planning and teaching, TED talks, children’s literature, impromptu speaking and interviewing.
Imagine being escorted to your first day at a brand-new school not by your parents, but U.S. marshals, as a crowd of protesters chant and point at you, angry you are now attending this school. You are the only student in your classroom. No other children are with you, and you’re not allowed to join them at lunch or at recess.
That is what Ruby Bridges went through 64 years ago.
On the anniversary of this historic day, dozens of Topeka area middle and high school students joined the civil rights icon on Thursday, Nov. 14, for an in-person “fireside chat” at Washburn University, in Topeka, to celebrate “Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day”, a symbolic walk of unity and strength. Her appearance comes as the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education is also celebrated.
For nearly 20 years, fostering a love for reading with the youngest of Kansans has been promoted each November through the “Kansas Reads to Preschoolers” program.
“Early literacy is so important,” said Nikki Hansen, resource sharing librarian for the State Library of Kansas. “Preschoolers, they may not be reading yet, but with having books in the home, having a parent or guardian reading to them, it increases their vocabulary, it increases their readiness for kindergarten. Having someone read to them just encourages a love of reading in themselves.”
Members of the Kansas State Board of Education received a final set of recommendations during their November meeting that will serve as guidance for school districts’ policies regarding students’ use of digital technology.
Ava Gustin, a senior at Mission Valley High School, Mission Valley USD 330, and Brian Houghton, principal of Fredonia Jr.-Sr. High School, Fredonia USD 484, co-chairs of the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Student Screen Time (pictured above), outlined the recommendations that address the following topics chosen by the State Board:
All ESSER funds must have been OBLIGATED by Sept. 30, and districts must request payments by Nov. 20, to make the cutoff for the final December liquidation deadline. Note: KSDE lacks the authority to alter or extend these statutory dates.
The reporting for Period 1 for incidents of restraint and/or seclusion using emergency safety interventions (ESI) began on July 1 and ends Nov. 20. District staff should begin entering this data into the Kansas Integrated Accountability System (KIAS) as soon as possible after Nov. 30 but before the submission window closes on Dec. 30.
With the enhanced English Language Arts (ELA) assessment in 2024 and the focus on the science of reading, the Kansas State Department of Education’s Career Standards and Assessment Services team worked with national technical advisors to provide guidance for the appropriate accommodations needed for the ELA assessment. Beginning this year, students in grades 3-5 will not have the text-to-speech (TTS) accommodation available for ELA questions and responses.
The November virtual KESA monthly update has been rescheduled for 10:30-11:15 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 18, due to Veterans Day on Nov. 11. These meetings will return to the second Monday of each month following the holiday.
Early childhood experiences set the stage for lifelong success. Providing excellent early learning opportunities for preschool students with disabilities is an important area of focus as districts seek to improve kindergarten readiness. Research clearly indicates creating environments for all students to learn together regardless of ability improves outcomes for all students.
The Kansas State Department of Education, along with the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Nebraska Department of Education, is accepting applications for the Heartland Farm to School Institute.
This institute aims to promote the three tenants of Farm to School (procurement, school gardens and education) as well as the Three C’s (classrooms, cafeterias and communities) through school-led Farm to School initiatives.
Child Nutrition Program (CNP) sponsors may request up to $10,000 to support Farm to Plate initiatives that will increase the local foods served as part of Child Nutrition Program snacks and meals.
KSDE is already in the early stages of planning the 2025 Great Ideas in Education Conference since the date of the event has been changed to the last week of July.
School systems are strongly encouraged to send district leadership teams to the annual conference, now set for July 27-30, at the Hyatt Regency, in Wichita. Learning and collaboration opportunities will emphasize the fundamentals of structured literacy, standards alignment, balanced assessment, and quality instruction.
Bring your questions, your colleagues and an interest in learning about literacy practices that can move your school’s literacy initiatives forward.
English language arts (ELA) teachers for grades 3–12 will learn what text complexity is, why complex text is vital to assist in raising the rigor for our students, and how best to scaffold learning using evidence-based strategies. Structured literacy demands teachers present students with appropriately complex texts, explicitly teaching students to grapple with them.
The Kansas State Department of Education has extended its partnership with Renaissance Learning into the 2025-26 school year. Contact your Account Manager for FastBridge pricing through the state contract.
Many districts have virtual hours they can use to schedule a session from the Professional Learning Catalog. See if this applies to you by watching the recording at the 1:37 time stamp. You do not need to hold the session by Dec. 31, but you do need to schedule it before then so that it does not expire.
15: Curriculum directors meeting, 9 a.m.–3 p.m., Bishop Professional Development Center, 3601 S.W. 31st Street, Topeka. Contact Pat Bone, pbone@ksde.org, with questions.
18: KESA 2.0 monthly Zoom update, 10:30-11:15 a.m. Click here for the Zoom link. (Rescheduled due to the Veterans Day holiday.)
18: Individual Plan of Study (IPS) technical assistance session, 9 a.m.- 2 p.m., Orion, Clearwater. Register here. Contact Natalie Clark, ndclark@ksde.org or (785) 296-4351, with questions.
19: Kansas MTSS & Alignment offers behavior intervention protocol training, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Hilton Garden Inn, Salina. No cost. Click here to register. Contact Susan Danner, susand@kansasmtss.org, with questions.
21: Question, Signal, Stem, Share and Assess (QSSSA) deep dive, 6-7:30 p.m., virtual. Register here. Contact Heather Musil, hjmusil@fhsu.edu, for more information regarding enrollment and fees for graduate credit.
Members of the Kansas State Board of Education will receive a set of recommendations from the Blue-Ribbon Task Force on Student Screen Time during their monthly meeting, Nov. 12-13, in Topeka.
The 36-member task force, comprised of students, teachers, administrators, parents, legislators and state board members Melanie Haas and Danny Zeck, have been meeting since August. They’ve shared and discussed information to formulate recommendations for the following three areas:
The interdisciplinary aspects and connectedness of STEAM are what Dr. Lindsay King believes help students develop critical thinking skills and resilience.
“I think the best part about STEAM is that it brings people together to solve a problem,” said King, director of college and career readiness at Maize Unified School District 266. “Regardless of what problems you’ll be solving in the future, you’re always going to benefit from working together with a team and handle setbacks. This is the vehicle in which we are practicing that skill.”
National STEM/STEAM Day is Friday, Nov. 8, which celebrates science, technology, engineering, (art) and mathematics. These subjects are woven into Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses which improve students’ college and career readiness, play a powerful role in preventing students from dropping out, and provide a variety of opportunities for postsecondary success and employment.
The KSDE Special Education and Title Services (SETS) team is reminding districts to complete the Title IV-A Expenditure Survey SFY 2024 regarding information for the Consolidated State Performance Report.
This survey is REQUIRED and must be completed no later than Friday, Nov. 8.
With the enhanced English Language Arts (ELA) assessment in 2024 and the focus on the science of reading, the Kansas State Department of Education’s Career Standards and Assessment Services team worked with national technical advisors to provide guidance for the appropriate accommodations needed for the ELA assessment.
Beginning this year, students in grades 3-5 will not have the text-to-speech (TTS) accommodation available for ELA questions and responses.
The November virtual KESA monthly update has been rescheduled for 10:30-11:15 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 18, due to Veterans Day on Nov. 11. These meetings will return to the second Monday of each month following the holiday. Join the meeting here and subscribe to the KESA listserv at accreditation@ksde.org to receive email reminders and more.
Smooth, seamless transitions from Part C to Part B ensure young children with disabilities receive services without disruption or delay.
Each year, school districts report data for Indicator 12 for Part B, one of the 17 indicators reported to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). Part B Indicator 12 is a compliance indicator that measures the percent of children referred by Part C prior to age 3, who are found eligible for Part B, and who have an IEP developed and implemented by their third birthdays.
The Heartland Farm to School Institute aims to assist schools in incorporating Farm to School programming in the classroom, cafeteria, and community. The Kansas State Department of Education, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the Nebraska Department of Education are leading this initiative.
Early childhood professionals, caregivers, community members working to support local child care efforts, and anyone with an interest in child care in Kansas are invited to join a roundtable event to share your experiences with child care in your region.
This event will be 6:30-8 p.m., on Tuesday, Nov. 12, at the Abilene Childcare Learning Center 2/Nichols Education Center, 1003 N. Brady Street, in Abilene. Click here to register for this free event that is open to the public.
Kansas is a member state of the MBA Research consortium and that means there are numerous resources available for free to our business teachers.
During a free webinar from 3:30-4:15 p.m., on Nov. 13, Tammy Cyrus, vice president of professional learning for MBA Research, will lead teachers through creating a state’s connection account and where to find all of the resources that can help in the classroom.
The KSDE Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM) team is offering a special virtual training session for Kansas educators on instructionally embedded assessments to guide classroom instruction, 3-4 p.m., on Nov. 14. Register here.
Mark your calendars for the remaining 2024-25 Local Consolidated Plan (LCP) quarterly meetings that are for administrators (new and veteran) responsible for LCPs.
Administrators will receive timely information and more in-depth support from the KSDE Special Education and Title Services team and statewide experts, with an emphasis on upcoming tasks and special topics as needed.
8: 2026 Kansas Teacher of the Year nominations due. Instructions for accessing the online application can be found here. Contact Tamla Miller, tmiller@ksde.org, or (785) 296-4950 for more information or questions.
8: Introduction to the Ages & Stages Questionnaires (ASQ)® training, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m., on Zoom. Register at ksdetasn.org/events.
8: Individual Plan of Study (IPS) technical assistance session, 9 a.m.- 2 p.m., ESSDACK, Hutchinson. Register here. Contact Natalie Clark, ndclark@ksde.org or (785) 296-4351, with questions.
12: Kansas MTSS & Alignment Leadership Institute, Topeka. Click this link to register: ksdetasn.org/events. Contact Josh Lee at josh@kansasmtss.org with questions.
The 2024 KSDE Great Ideas in Education Conference: “Lighting the Path Forward” provided educators across Kansas a deeper dive into structured literacy, high quality instruction, and data-driven strategies, to name just a few of the topics covered during the three-day event, held Oct. 23-25, in Wichita.
Chris Perry, co-founder and executive director of Cultivate Education, LLC, delivered the keynote address, focusing on the art and science of effective implementation. He cited research showing only 33% of educational initiatives and programs are successfully implemented and achieve their stated goals. He said implementation can be difficult, especially when it requires more staff and resources to sustain an initiative.
The Blue-Ribbon Task Force on Student Screen Time held its 11th meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 30 with the focus on finalizing recommendations regarding parental oversight of district-owned devices.
The purpose of these task force meetings has been to develop guidance/recommendations, based in research, on the following topics:
The task force voted on the remaining set of recommendations which will be drafted into the final report presented to the board in November.
Todd Wollard believes he has found the winning recipe for success for his district’s food service program. He starts with a generous amount of treating students as customers and combines it with equal parts love, creativity and common sense.
“Our entire goal is to do what’s best for our students,” said Wollard, food service and human resources coordinator for Prairie View Unified School District 362. “They deserve to get quality meals.”
This survey will allow KSDE to report federally required data regarding Title IV, Part A to the U.S. Department of Education.
KSDE will host virtual office hours on Wednesday, Nov. 6, for systems that have participated in their School Improvement Day and are currently developing their KESA action plan. Systems can review the KESA application, locate resources, discuss the action plan components and guidelines, and address specific questions they may have.
The November virtual KESA monthly update has been rescheduled for 10:30-11:15 a.m. on Nov. 18, due to Veterans Day falling on Nov. 11. These meetings will return to the second Monday of each month following the holiday. Join the meeting here and subscribe to the KESA listserv at accreditation@ksde.org to receive email reminders and more.
The Kansas State Department of Education’s Accreditation and Design team has received several requests for directions on how to access the KESA 2.0 authenticated application.
The following are the three levels of access from which to choose:
he next curriculum leaders meeting will be Nov. 15 at the Bishop Professional Development Center, 3601 S.W. 31st Street, in Topeka.
The Kansas Instructional Leaders Association networking will begin at 9 a.m. The KSDE portion of the meeting will be 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Click here to register.
Nominations for the 2026 Kansas Teacher of the Year close on Friday, Nov. 8. KSDE encourages every school district to nominate one exemplary elementary classroom teacher and one exemplary secondary classroom teacher for this prestigious award.
Not only does participating in this program demonstrate your district values exceptional teaching, but you will also be providing critical professional development opportunities for your nominees. Participants say this program is life-changing and has made them better teachers.
Business teachers, DECA and Future Business Leaders of America advisors are invited to a free online seminar on Nov. 13. Participants will do the following:
Register here. Contact Kathy Camarena, kcamarena@ksde.org, (785) 296-3152, with questions.
Learning Forward Kansas is offering “Keys to Impactful Learning,” a professional development workshop from 9 a.m.-3:15 p.m., on Nov. 20, at Fort Hays State University.
The 2024-25 Local Consolidated Plan (LCP) quarterly meetings are for administrators (new and veteran) responsible for LCPs.
Registration is open for the 2025 Virtual Health Care Career Day, on Jan. 30, a partnership of the Kansas Hospital Association, Kansas State Department of Education, and Kansas Board of Regents.
Click here to register at no cost and click here for the agenda. This virtual event will be from 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Event hosts will send Zoom instructions to participants the week before Jan. 30.
FastBridge is a KSDE-approved universal screener and KSDE-approved screener for dyslexia. KSDE sponsors a variety of in-person and virtual professional learning opportunities to support implementation that are included in the partnership.
To learn more and to register for professional learning, as well as explore resources to support, visit the Kansas Landing Page.
Contact Sheleena Clark, sheleena.clark@renaissance.com, with questions.
1: Kansas State Interagency Coordinating Council (SICC) virtual retreat for local councils, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Click here to register. Contact Stacy Clarke, sclarke@ksde.org, (785) 296-3953, with questions.
1: Electronic Training Equipment CTE cluster application for FY2025 Perkins Reserve grant due. Contact Helen Swanson, hswanson@ksde.org, with questions.
1: Deadline to register for Learning Forward Kansas’s “Keys to Impactful Learning” professional development workshop, 9 a.m.-3:15 p.m., on Nov. 20, at Fort Hays State University. Click here to register and for more information about the conference. Contact Heather Musil, hjmusil@fhsu.edu, with questions.
Kansas educators and administrators gathered in Wichita on Wednesday, Oct. 23, for the first day of the 2024 Kansas State Department of Education’s Great Ideas in Education Conference: Lighting the Path Forward.
The conference, scheduled for Oct. 23-25, in Wichita, focuses on the tools necessary to strengthen school improvement efforts to support each Kansas student. Through professional development and networking opportunities, the conference helps educators and school personnel improve policies and strategies to create safe learning environments and quality teaching and learning practices for each student.
Role model, mentor, dedicated professional. These are just a few words people who know and work with Dorothy Dorman use to describe the winner of the small bus division of the 2025 National School Transportation Association School Bus Driver International Safety Competition.
“She can drive anything,” Alan Funk, Wichita North Lot location manager for First Student bus transportation company, said of Dorman. “You put her in something yellow and she can drive it.”
Dorman has been a driver for First Student since 2008, the company that contracts with Wichita Unified School District 259, and has been competing in bus driving contests since 2009. She was the overall state champion at the Kansas driving competition in early June in Derby. She followed that up with the first-place win in the small bus category at the international competition in late June in Austin, Texas, which included a written test and a rigorous road course, testing her knowledge and driving skills under pressure. Dorman is the first bus driver from Kansas to win in a category at the international competition.
There are just a couple of slots open for districts to participate in a special livestream event featuring Ruby Bridges who will be in Topeka on Nov. 14. The civil rights icon will host an in-person “fireside chat” with several area middle and high school students at Washburn University, in Topeka, to celebrate Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day.
There is still time for districts outside of Shawnee, Douglas, Sedgwick, Wyandotte and Johnson counties to participate in the livestream of the event, 11 a.m.-12:45 p.m., on Nov. 14.
The Dropout Graduation Summary Report (DGSR) will close on Oct. 31. This is a hard deadline. Districts should validate data across all K-12 levels to ensure accurate reporting for the DGSR.
Be sure to check all exit records and ensure they were uploaded to KIDS. You can do this by running either the graduate report or exit status report in KIDS collection.
Clay County USD 379 will host a one-day Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) proxy testing event on Nov. 7, at Clay County Community High School, 1630 9th Street, in Clay Center. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m.
Register here in advance: https://events.ksde.org/sf/CDLTesting.aspx
The Kansas State Department of Education’s Accreditation and Design team has received several inquiries requesting directions on how to access the KESA 2.0 authenticated application.
Virtual office hours will soon be offered to support systems that have participated in their School Improvement Day and are developing their KESA action plan.
Click here to access the office hours on Zoom, 3-4 p.m., on Wednesday, Nov. 6.
The next curriculum leaders meeting will be Nov. 15 at the Bishop Professional Development Center, 3601 S.W. 31st Street, in Topeka.
Kansas Child Care Training Opportunities, Inc. (KCCTO) is excited to announce hard copies of the recently updated Core Competencies for Early Childhood Care and Education Professionals have begun arriving in districts. Each school district will receive three hard copies to share with early childhood staff.
Registration is open now for the 2025 Virtual Health Care Career Day, on Jan. 30, a partnership of the Kansas Hospital Association, Kansas State Department of Education, and Kansas Board of Regents.
Click here to register at no cost and click here for the agenda. This virtual event will be from 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Zoom instructions will be sent out the week before Jan. 30.
Learning Forward Kansas is offering “Keys to Impactful Learning”, a professional development workshop from 9 a.m.-3:15 p.m., on Nov. 20, at Fort Hays State University.
This conference will focus on equipping educational leaders with impactful strategies to elevate their practice, engage staff, and drive impactful professional learning experiences. Principals, curriculum leaders, instructional coaches, and teacher leaders are invited to attend. Cris Seidel, director of the KSDE Educate Kansas teacher recruitment and retention project, will be the keynote speaker.
Nominations for the 2026 Kansas Teacher of the Year close on Nov. 8. Every school district is encouraged to nominate one exemplary elementary classroom teacher and one exemplary secondary classroom teacher for this prestigious award.
FastBridge is a KSDE-approved universal screener and KSDE-approved screener for dyslexia. KSDE sponsors a variety of in-person and professional learning opportunities to support implementation that are included in the partnership.
October
21-25: National School Bus Safety Week. Click here for resources. Contact Keith Dreiling, kdreiling@ksde.org, or (785) 296-4567.
23-25: Great Ideas in Education conference: Lighting the Path Forward, Hyatt Regency, in Wichita. Click here for more information.
28-30: 2024 Kansas Environmental Education Conference, 2-5 p.m. each day; virtual. Register here. Contact info@kacee.org or call (785) 532-3322 for more information.
30: CTE technical assistance session, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Greenbush South, Girard. Click here to register. Registration is $35 and lunch is included. Contact Natalie Clark, ndclark@ksde.org or (785) 296-4351 with questions.
30: Kansas MTSS and Alignment regional reading road show, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Junction City, Courtyard by Marriott. Register here. Contact Vicki Cooper, vicki@kansasmtss.org, with questions.
31: Dropout Graduation Summary Report (DGSR) due. Contact the KIDS help desk, kids@ksde.org, or the DGSR help desk, dgsrhelpdesk@ksde.org with questions.
From a young age, Rolanda Root has loved art. In fact, she remembers arriving early to kindergarten and drawing while she waited for her classmates to arrive.
“Art provides an outlet and peace,” she said.
Root teaches 2-D art (drawing, painting, etc.) at Pittsburg High School, Pittsburg Unified School District 250. In her fifth year at the school, Root teaches alongside Rebecca Lomshek, who teaches 3-D art (sculptures, ceramics, pottery, etc.) and said their art classes are full.
“Our enrollment shows (the students) really enjoy the art program also,” Root said.
Kansas school administrators and staff are entrusted to provide a safe and healthy learning environment for approximately 500,000 Kansas students. America’s Safe Schools Week, running from Oct. 20-26, 2024, is an opportunity to review or enhance districts’ crisis plans.
In honor of America’s Safe Schools Week, the Kansas State Department of Education encourages each district to set aside time that week to review key safety responsibilities.
The Kansas State Department of Education’s (KSDE) information technology staff will be gradually phasing in the Kansas Education Data System (KEDS) as a modernized, more parallel system for student data collection during the 2024-25 school year.
Over the course of the next few months, KSDEweekly will feature a series of stories about aspects of the migration to KEDS from the current Kansas Individual Data on Students (KIDS) system.
The ESSER Quarterly Reporting on CommonApp will close at the end of the day, Friday, Oct. 18.
This is a cumulative report, so use last quarter’s spreadsheet to add expenditures. This report should include all ESSER expenditures (reimbursed and planned) and will be the last of the state quarterly reporting for ESSER. Note: The federal annual performance reporting will continue into 2026.
The Dropout Graduation Summary Report (DGSR) is open for all districts. Districts should validate data across all K-12 levels to ensure accurate reporting for the DGSR. The report will close on Oct. 31. This is a hard deadline.
U.S. Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona is urging local educational agencies (LEAs) across the country to order free, over-the-counter rapid antigen COVID-19 self-tests for their students, families, staff, and school communities.
“We encourage LEAs to make use of this free COVID-19 test offering, which schools may use, for example, to stock school nurses’ offices and main offices with tests; to send test kits home with students or parents; or to distribute within their communities to put these valuable safeguards in the hands of students, parents, and staff who need them,” Cardona said in a recent letter.
Clay County USD 379 will be hosting a one-day Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) proxy testing event on Nov. 7, at Clay County Community High School, 1630 9th Street, in Clay Center. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m.
National School Bus Safety Week is Oct. 21-25 and Kansas School Transportation Appreciation Day is Wednesday, Oct. 23.
This important public education program is an excellent way for parents, students, teachers, motorists, school bus operations, school administrators, and other interested parties to join forces and address the importance of school bus safety.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced the latest round of funding for the Clean School Bus Rebate Program is available to school districts.
Applications for this year’s Clean School Bus Rebate Program are due on the EPA online portal by 3 p.m. CST, on Jan. 9, 2025.
The Kansas Volunteer Commission announced the MLK National Day of Service mini grant which provides grant funding to recruit and engage volunteers in meaningful service activities or deliver a service-learning activity related to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) Preparedness program now offers free One Health lesson plans for Kansas K-12 educators. One Health is an initiative that seeks to help educate students about the connections between the health of humans, animals and their shared environment.
Districts/systems: Do not forget to register for your KESA School Improvement Day. Use this School Improvement Day Fact Sheet to find the schedule for registration and more.
The Kansas State Interagency Coordinating Council (SICC) is hosting a virtual retreat for local councils, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., on Nov. 1.
This free event is a learning opportunity for anyone who works with children birth to five years of age.
Applications are due Sunday, Oct. 20, for "History for All: Elementary Social Studies and Structured Literacy," a yearlong cohort program to help elementary teachers improve their social studies teaching with historical content, pedagogy and structured literacy.
The Kansas Environmental Education Conference’s theme for this year is, “Cultivating Community Connections: Exploring the vibrant ecosystem of environmental education in Kansas.”
Kansas MTSS and Alignment is hosting a regional reading road show in October and December.
Attendees will learn about the latest research in Reading for All Pre-K-12th readers and will leave with a plan, resources and practical tools to implement the classroom immediately.
Virtual sessions will be available in November and December to take a deeper dive into QSSSA, an instructional method for all K-12 teachers who are looking for ways to engage their English language learners in academic discussions.
These sessions will highlight and explain in detail each component of the QSSSA strategy: question, signal, stem, share and assess.
If you are interested in a FastBridge session below, but are unable to join, use the Newsletter Engagement Form to request additional dates and times using option #5 on question 4.
18: CommonApp closes for quarterly ESSER reporting. Email esser@ksde.org with questions.
18: District test coordinator mandatory training, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Orion, Clearwater. Register here. Contact Chelsea Pelfrey at cpelfrey@ksde.org or (785) 296-0040 with questions.
18: E-Rate training, 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., Greenbush North, Lawrence. Register here. Contact Jenni Marlatt, jmarlatt@ksde.org, with questions.
Our educators and students continue to work hard to recover from COVID-19, Kansas Education Commissioner Randy Watson said this week when summing up the 2023-24 annual report prepared by the Kansas State Department of Education.
“We’re progressing in our post-pandemic recovery process,” he said. “That’s the good news. COVID set us back but we’re still on target.”
More specifically, Watson said incremental progress is being made on one of the Kansas State Board of Education’s goals to move more students out of the lowest level of reading on the spring state assessments.
Members of the Kansas State Board of Education received the 2023-24 annual report prepared by the Kansas State Department of Education during the board’s October meeting this week in Topeka.
Kansas Education Commissioner Randy Watson presented the report to board members, which includes the results of the 2024 state assessments in reading and math.
The Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) joins all Kansas schools in observing Oct. 7-11, the first full week of October, as Kansas Anti-Bullying Week, part of National Bullying Prevention Month.
This is an opportunity to create awareness and address the harm that bullying creates. It’s also a time to recognize the responsibility to safeguard schools to ensure physically safe and emotionally secure environments for all Kansas students and school staff.
U.S. Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona is urging local educational agencies (LEA) across the country to order free, over-the-counter rapid antigen COVID-19 self-tests for their students, families, staff, and school communities.
The ESSER Quarterly Reporting opened on CommonApp on Oct. 1, and will close at the end of the day, Friday, Oct. 18.
This is a cumulative report, so use last quarter’s spreadsheet to add expenditures. This report should include all ESSER expenditures (reimbursed and planned) and will be the last of the state quarterly reporting for ESSER. The federal annual performance reporting will continue into 2026.
The Kansas Volunteer Commission has announced the MLK National Day of Service mini-grant, which provides grant funding to recruit and engage volunteers in meaningful service activities or deliver a service-learning activity related to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Applications are due Nov. 4. All school districts, as well as community-based and youth-serving organizations, are encouraged to apply. The grant period is from Jan. 1 – Jan. 31, 2025, and applicants may request up to $5,000.
Wabaunsee USD 329 is hosting an Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT) and Commercial Driver License (CDL) permit training exam event, Oct. 23-24, in Alma.
Click here to register: CDL permit training. The training will be 8 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. each day at the Alma Community Center, 1050 Ohio Street. The ELDT Theory will be Oct. 23; the CDL written test will be Oct. 24. There will be an open lunch both days.
Start making plans now to celebrate National School Bus Safety Week, Oct. 21-25.
Applications for this year’s Clean School Bus Rebate Program are due on the EPA online portal by 4 p.m. EST on Jan. 9, 2025. Applicants can request up to $325,000 per bus for up to 50 buses per application, an increase in the total buses per project in response to stakeholder feedback for larger projects to help achieve faster fleet turnover. Funds can be used to cover bus and infrastructure costs for awardees requesting electric school buses, as well as eligible training costs for bus drivers, electricians, and others working with the new buses or infrastructure.
The Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) Information Technology will host E-Rate training sessions, Oct. 14-18, across the state.
The next KSDE’s Information Technology (IT) webinar will be at 1 p.m., on Oct. 16. This month’s topic is on data breaches.
The Accreditation and Design team is hosting the KESA monthly virtual update, 10:30-11:15 a.m., on Oct. 14.
The Kansas State Department of Education’s virtual monthly science collaborations for the 2024-25 school year start this month.
Mark your calendars for these monthly meetups for curriculum leaders, science teachers and new science teachers in a professional learning community (PLC). Get updates from KSDE, meet colleagues, ask questions and share resources.
The deadline for submitting online applications for 2024 Summer EBT program benefits is 5 p.m., on Oct. 15. This is a new federal program designed to help eligible families offset some of the costs of buying food for their school-aged children during the summer.
The deadline to register for this year’s Great Ideas in Education conference, “Lighting the Path Forward,” is Friday, Oct. 11.
This year’s conference is focused on the Four Fundamentals and supporting structures necessary for KESA implementation and school improvement. There will also be sessions on safe and secure schools and technology.
Don’t miss out on this excellent opportunity for your leadership team to attend. Teams of four will receive a discount on registration.
The Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) is accepting nominations for the 2026 Kansas Teacher of the Year. Every school district is encouraged to nominate one exemplary elementary classroom teacher and one exemplary secondary classroom teacher for this prestigious award.
Not only does participating in this program demonstrate that your district values exceptional teaching, you will be providing critical professional development opportunities for your nominees. Participants say year after year this program is life-changing and has made them better teachers.
Kansas Multi-tiered System of Supports (MTSS) and Alignment is offering an in-person, no cost training session on Nov. 19 for attendees to learn a 5-step research-based behavior intervention protocol to implement across classroom environments.
Pre-K-12 educators are invited to participate in training sessions in October to develop students’ language, understanding, fluency and problem solving across Kansas math standards.
Kansas Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) math specialists and Kansas Math Project facilitators will help participants do the following:
Many districts have virtual hours that they can use to schedule a session from the Professional Learning Catalog. See if this applies to you by watching the recording at the 1:37 time stamp. You do not need to hold the session by Dec. 31, but you do need to schedule it before then so that it does not expire.
1-17: CommonApp open for quarterly ESSER reporting. Email esser@ksde.org with questions.
11: Introduction to the Ages & Stages Questionnaires (ASQ)® training, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m., on Zoom. Register at ksdetasn.org/events.
14: KESA 2.0 monthly Zoom update, 10:30-11:15 a.m. Click here for the Zoom link.
14: E-Rate training, 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., Greenbush South, Girard. Register here. Contact Jenni Marlatt, jmarlatt@ksde.org, with questions.
15: Deadline for Summer EBT program food benefits online application. Click here for more information that can be shared with families by school districts.
Already a life-long advocate of teachers and the teaching profession, Liz Anstine knew when her name was called as the 2025 Kansas Teacher of the Year, the real work was about to begin.
“At that moment, I thought, ‘Well, here we go. I need to keep advocating.’”
The Leavenworth High School business teacher was chosen from a field of eight regional finalists on Sept. 28, in Wichita.
“I think I was picked for a reason,” Anstine said when reflecting on the moment when Kansas Education Commissioner Randy Watson and 2024 KTOY Taylor Bussinger announced she would be the next Kansas Teacher of the Year. “I didn’t come from privilege. I wasn’t always recognized even when I worked hard. I’ve never had this experience, not even in the corporate world.”
Members of the Kansas State Board of Education will receive the Kansas State Department of Education’s 2023-24 annual report from Education Commissioner Randy Watson during their October meeting, Oct. 8-9, in Topeka.
Dr. Watson will highlight Kansas education accomplishments, including the spring 2024 state assessments. He also will update board members on progress made on the Kansans Can outcomes of kindergarten readiness, social-emotional growth, civic engagement, individual plans of study (IPS), academically prepared for postsecondary, graduation and postsecondary success.
If you were to walk the halls of Berryton Elementary School in Shawnee Heights Unified School District 450 on a special day or near a holiday, you may find someone in a Cat in the Hat or Santa Claus costume.
The man behind the costume is likely head custodian Austin Smith.
Smith has been a custodian for about 18 years, working in USD 450 for 11 years.
He started doing it as an after-school job in high school, then continued it through college while he got his associate’s degree from Washburn University, in Topeka.
“I really like the changes from the immediate gratification of dirty to clean, not shiny to shiny,” he said. “That instant gratification does it for me.”
October kicks off the Kansas State Department of Education’s virtual monthly science collaborations for the 2024-25 school year.
Mark your calendars for these monthly meet-ups for curriculum leaders, science teachers and new science teachers in a professional learning community (PLC). Get updates from KSDE, meet colleagues, ask questions and share resources.
The Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) will host E-Rate training sessions this month. Don Dietrich and Lori Thompson from BTU Consultants will conduct five in-person sessions across the state to discuss the E-Rate program's opportunities and requirements.
Throughout October, the KSDE Information Technology staff will share tips to help you protect your digital life and understand the importance of cybersecurity in our world.
Most school districts should have received printed copies of the Kansas Early Learning Standards (KELS). These also are available online with accompanying resources at kels.ksde.org. The standards are now available in Spanish.
The Kansas MTSS & Alignment preschool team is providing a free, one-day event that will engage preschool teachers in understanding the importance of standards-based activities for their classrooms.
This hands-on, make and take event will help Pre-K teachers create standards-based, small group activities for preschool students that align with educational standards while also catering to the developmental needs and interests of young children.
Technical assistance sessions are scheduled in October and November to provide K-12 school districts with the tools to support the implementation of a high-quality Individual Plan of Study (IPS) process.
Topics will include the Students’ Right to Know Act, Kansas degree statistics, Kansas Training Information Program (K-TIP), potential earnings of the U.S. military, Kansas Department of Labor’s labor market information and other information relevant to the students’ understanding of potential earnings.
Child Nutrition and Wellness is excited to launch the Kansas Harvest of the Month program, a celebration of Kansas grown commodities, in October.
Completed nomination applications for the 2025 Kansas Horizon Award recognition program honoring first-year classroom teachers must be postmarked no later than Oct. 10.
Sponsored by the Kansas State Department of Education, this program recognizes and rewards first-year teachers who have served as examples of excellent teaching in their elementary or secondary classroom. Nominated teachers must have completed their first year of teaching and be starting their second year.
Nominations for the Presidential Scholars and Presidential Scholars in Career and Technical Education (CTE) must be postmarked by Oct. 10.
The Presidential Scholars program recognizes and honors high school seniors who have demonstrated high achievements academically or in the arts — some having to overcome special challenges or hurdles to do so.
Applications for the 2025 United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) are due Oct. 10. The students selected will be notified after Dec. 1.
Any high school junior or senior is eligible for the program as long as they have not previously been a delegate to Washington Week and have not received a USSYP scholarship. The student applicant must hold a high-level leadership position in any student government, civic or educational organization during the entire 2024–25 academic year.
The Oct. 11 deadline is fast approaching to register for this year’s Great Ideas in Education conference, “Lighting the Path Forward.”
Don’t miss out on this excellent opportunity for your leadership team to attend. Teams of four will receive a discount on registration. The deadline to register is Oct. 11.
The Curriculum-Based Measures(CBM)math Concepts & Applications (CAP) and CBMmath process are two optional probes within the FastBridge math assessment suite often overlooked. Who might benefit from administering one of these assessments, and what types of data do they generate?
Kansas Multi-tiered System of Supports (MTSS) and Alignment is offering an in-person, no cost training session in November for attendees to learn a 5-step research-based behavior intervention protocol to implement across classroom environments.
Veteran educators, anyone considering a career in education, and anyone in between is invited to Bethany College’s education conference, Feb. 8, 2025.
Click this link to register by Jan. 18: https://www.bethanylb.edu/education-conference
4: CTE technical assistance session, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., ESSDACK, Hutchinson. Click here to register. Registration is $35 and lunch is included. Contact Natalie Clark, ndclark@ksde.org or (785) 296-4351 with questions.
7: CTE technical assistance session, 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Southwest Plains, Sublette. Click here to register. Registration is $35 and lunch is included. Contact Natalie Clark, ndclark@ksde.org or (785) 296-4351 with questions.
8-9: Kansas State Board of Education meeting, Topeka.
Four Kansas elementary schools were named 2024 National Blue Ribbon Schools, U.S. Secretary of Education Dr. Miguel Cardona announced Monday, Sept. 23.
The schools are part of 356 schools across the country that are part of this year’s National Blue Ribbon cohort. The following Kansas schools were recognized in the Exemplary High Performing Schools category:
The Post-Award Reporting and Recording forms for capital improvement projects are due Sept. 30.
These reports are mandatory for capital project in which federal funds were used for ANY portion of the project. This includes any ESSER funding stream, such as ESSER I, ESSER I SPED, ESSER II, ESSER II SPED, ESSER II True Up, ESSER III, or ESSER III True Up.
The ESSER quarterly reporting will open on CommonApp on Oct. 1, and will close at the end of the day, Oct. 17. This is a cumulative report, so use last quarter’s spreadsheet to add expenditures.
This report should include all ESSER expenditures (reimbursed and planned) and will be the last of the state quarterly reporting for ESSER. Remember, even if you haven’t had any expenditures this past quarter, you are still required to submit a report.
The federal annual performance reporting will continue into 2026.
The fiscal year 2025 Perkins Reserve grant applications for the Human Services, Marketing and Transportation, Distribution & Logistics clusters are due Friday, Sept. 27.
The approved Kansas State Plan for Career and Technical Education (CTE) includes a Perkins Secondary Reserve Fund, established to provide support for innovative CTE programs, program delivery and/or CTE program expansion to meet critical workforce development needs. Reserve funds are distributed through a competitive grant process.
KSDE Accreditation and Design staff have recently finalized two important resources as it pertains to KESA and school improvement:
Action Plan Guide: The major outcome for each system this year is to submit an action plan that is clear, aligned with the school improvement model, and data-driven. This resource will help systems develop such an action plan.
Data Review Guide: This resource will help a system analyze its data at a deep level using existing databases. This guide will be referenced during your School Improvement Day and can drive the discussion among your District Leadership Team on data before, during, and after the School Improvement Day.
During the 2024-25 school year, schools and districts can leverage a new, advanced assessment for K-8 math. The IXL LevelUp® math benchmark assessment is scientifically advanced, can be administered in no more than an hour (typically less), has enhanced reporting, and is available in Spanish. It can also be used in real-time mode to refine students’ scores and recommendations in between benchmark windows.
Click here for more information about the two diagnostic assessments that will be offered beginning this fall.
The deadline to finalize all Kindergarten Readiness Snapshot (ASQ) data for the 2024-25 school year is Friday, Sept. 27.
To advance kindergarten readiness, all Kansas elementary schools are required to partner with families to better understand incoming kindergarten students’ development. Schools should have administered both the Ages & Stages Questionnaires®, Third Edition (ASQ-3) and the Ages & Stages Questionnaires®: Social-Emotional, Second Edition (ASQ:SE-2) to all incoming kindergarten students by Sept. 20.
All data must be entered in ASQ Online by Friday, Sept. 27.
This hands-on, make it-take event will help Pre-K teachers create standards-based, small group activities for preschool students that align with educational standards while also catering to the developmental needs and interests of young children.
Don’t miss out on this excellent opportunity for your leadership team to attend this year’s Great Ideas in Education conference, “Lighting the Path Forward.”
This year the conference is focused on the Four Fundamentals and supporting structures necessary for KESA implementation and school improvement. There will also be sessions on safe and secure schools and technology.
Teams of four will receive a discount on registration. The deadline for registration is Oct. 11.
September
27: District test coordinator mandatory training, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Smoky Hill, Salina. Register here. Contact Chelsea Pelfrey at cpelfrey@ksde.org or (785) 296-0040 with questions.
27: KESA 2.0 information meeting, Greenbush, Lawrence. In-person; registration required. (Click here to register for the 9:30-11:30 a.m. session; click here to register for the 12:30-2:30 p.m. session.) Contact Rue Huereca-Retana, RHuereca-Retana@ksde.org, for more information.
27: FastBridge assessment system information session, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.; Courtyard by Marriott, Junction City. Click here to register: https://www.ksdetasn.org/mtss/trainings. Contact Todd Wiedemann at todd@kansasmtss.org with questions.
27-28: Kansas Teacher of the Year conference, Wichita.
30: CTE technical assistance session, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Smoky Hill, Salina. Click here to register. Registration is $35 and lunch is included. Contact Natalie Clark, ndclark@ksde.org or (785) 296-4351 with questions.
Like many of her classmates, Raegann McDonald is going on college visits and making the most of her senior year in high school as an athlete and leader. But this Clay County Community High School student is also making it her mission to address the root causes of why several of her peers committed suicide in a short period of time in 2023.
“You can’t just address the problem, you have to address why the problem is going on,” McDonald said. “It’s important that we break the stigma.”
The Fall Vacancy Report (accessed in the Educator Data Collection System) and the list of mentor teachers (entered in the Mentor Stipends system) are due Wednesday, Sept. 25.
For the purpose of this requirement, capital expenditures means expenditures to acquire capital assets or expenditures to make additions, improvements, modifications, replacements, rearrangements, reinstallations, renovations, or alterations to capital assets that materially increase their value or useful life.
The ESSER quarterly reporting will open on CommonApp on Oct. 1, and will close at the end of the day, Oct. 17. This is a cumulative report, so use last quarter’s spreadsheet to add expenditures. This report should include all ESSER expenditures (reimbursed and planned) and will be the last of the state quarterly reporting for ESSER.
Remember, even if you haven’t had any expenditures this past quarter, you are still required to submit a report.
Registration is now open for the second quarterly meeting of administrators of Local Consolidated Plans (LCP).
The Kansas State Department of Education is committed to supporting districts that serve students who are experiencing homelessness. Live, virtual McKinney-Vento trainings will be offered on the following dates and times:
Contact Maureen Tabasko, mtabasko@ksde.org, (785) 296-1101, or Roxanne Zillinger, rzillinger@ksde.org, (785) 296-7260, for access to the Zoom link for each training and/or additional information on the program.
Grant applications for the Fiscal Year 2025 Perkins Reserve grants are now available on the KSDE Carl. D. Perkins Webpage.
The National Summit on K-12 School Safety and Security, hosted by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), will be Sept. 25-26, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. CST, each day.
This virtual event brings together school safety experts, practitioners and leaders to discuss and share actionable recommendations that enhance safe and supportive learning environments in K-12 schools. Through expert panels, sessions and keynote addresses by leaders in the field, the summit explores current threats and issues in school safety and considers research-informed strategies for addressing security challenges.
On Sept. 18, Kansas Ages & Stages Questionnaires (ASQ) Online users received the fifth and final installment of Kansas Kindergarten Readiness Snapshot News & Updates, a five-part guide to a successful start to the kindergarten year.
Each edition provides proven resources to guide Kansas educators through each step of the Ages & Stages Questionnaires® (ASQ®) screening process. If you are not a Kansas ASQ Online user, you can visit agesandstages.com/ks to sign up for these emails and to view past newsletters.
Important reminder: To advance kindergarten readiness, all Kansas elementary schools are required to partner with families to better understand incoming kindergarten students’ development. The 2024 Snapshot window closes Friday, Sept. 20.
The KSDE Early Childhood Team is excited to announce 6,551 hard copies of the recently updated Kansas Early Learning Standards (KELS) have begun arriving in districts. The Kansas Early Learning Standards provide information regarding what young children birth through kindergarten should know and be able to do as a result of engagement with caring knowledgeable adults, evidence-based curriculum, and developmentally appropriate activities.
Hosted by Kansas students, the fourth season of Cool Careers is now available here from HirePaths.
The new episodes feature a human resources specialist, emergency dispatcher, commercial driver and IT network installer. Downloadable, free worksheets have also been developed to go along with each episode.
The KSDE Career and Technical Education (CTE) program is offering technical assistance in September and October for various topics including Career Cluster and Pathway Program of Study Applications (CPPSAs), Kansas Department of Labor (KDOL) information and resources, industry recognized credentials, Students’ Right to Know Act and more.
The Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) has extended the application deadline for the 2024 Summer EBT program. Applications for the new federal program, designed to help eligible families offset some of the costs of buying food for their school-aged children during the summer, are being accepted until 5 p.m., on Oct. 15.
Did you know there are more than 300 different national sign languages? Each year for International Day of Sign Languages, celebrated on Sept. 23, the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) encourages public buildings, landmarks and more, to be spotlighted in a blue light to promote and recognize these languages.
The “Shine a Blue Light on Sign Languages” campaign aims to unite the world, its citizens, communities and societies through the blue light. Be on the lookout on KSDE’s social media channels leading up to Monday, Sept. 23, for a video from students from the Kansas School for the Deaf.
Don’t forget to register your leadership team to attend this year’s Great Ideas in Education Conference: Lighting the Path Forward, Oct. 23-25, in Wichita.
KSDE is encouraging districts and buildings to bring a leadership team to learn together. Each district will be slightly different according to size and district needs.
Teams of four will receive a discount on registration.
Every district must have a district test coordinator and each district test coordinator is required to attend annual security and ethics training before training all other district staff involved in administering state assessments.
Each training session will be 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Many districts have virtual hours they can use to schedule a consultant-led FastBridge or Star session. See if this applies to you by watching the recording at the 1:37 time stamp. You do not need to hold the session by Dec. 31, but you do need to schedule it before then so that it does not expire. Contact scheduling@renaissance.com for more information and/or schedule sessions here.
If you are interested in a FastBridge session below, but would be unable to join, use the Newsletter Engagement Form to request additional dates and times using option #5.
24: KESA 2.0 information meeting, 9:30-11:30 a.m. or 12:30-2:30 p.m., ESSDACK, Hutchinson. In-person; no registration required. Contact Rue Huereca-Retana, RHuereca-Retana@ksde.org, for more information.
24: 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., FastBridge assessment system information session; Lee Richardson Zoo, Garden City. Click here to register: https://www.ksdetasn.org/mtss/trainings. Contact Todd Wiedemann at todd@kansasmtss.org with questions.
24: School Transportation informational meeting, 9:30 a.m. – 12 p.m., Osborne High School auditorium, north door. Questions? Contact Keith Dreiling at kdreiling@ksde.org or (785) 296-4567.
25: KESA 2.0 information meeting, 9:30-11:30 a.m. or 12:30-2:30 p.m., Smoky Hill, Hays. In-person; no registration required. Contact Rue Huereca-Retana, RHuereca-Retana@ksde.org, for more information.
25: School Transportation informational meeting, 9:30 a.m. – 12 p.m., Greenbush, Ottawa board office. Questions? Contact Keith Dreiling at kdreiling@ksde.org or (785) 296-4567.
Members of the Blue-Ribbon Task Force on Student Screen Time have met four times to date, reviewing research and discussing the issues that will form the basis for a recommended policy regarding the non-academic use of cell phones and other technology by Pre-K-12 Kansas students.
The 36-member task force, appointed by the Kansas State Board of Education in July, is focusing on the following areas:
Members of the task force include students, classroom teachers, administrators, two legislators, and two members of the state board.
Members of the Kansas State Board of Education received an update during their September meeting on what districts will have to include in their at-risk accountability plans, the at-risk pilot initiative and the status of the list of evidence-based programs.
The Kansas State Department of Education submitted its annual budget request on Friday, Sept. 6, to the Division of the Budget of the Kansas Department of Administration.
This year’s budget request included a revised estimate for state fiscal year 2025 and an initial estimate for FY 2026. The state fiscal year lasts from July 1 to June 30. A summary of the budget is provided below. The agency’s full budget request can be found on the KSDE website at Fiscal Services and Operations.
The ESSER quarterly reporting will open on CommonApp on Oct. 1, and will close at the end of the day, Oct. 17.
As a follow-up to the annual Counting Kids workshops, KSDE’s Fiscal Auditing Team will offer six “Ask an Auditor” Zoom-based sessions to help answer 2024-25 Counting Kids questions. The sessions will be on the following dates:
A new tool, “Checklist for School Districts’ Annual KSDE Audit,” clearly identifies documents required for the audit, including a short list of items to upload in advance of your district’s scheduled audit.
The checklist is available on the KSDE Fiscal Auditing webpage under the heading, “Audit Guides.” The checklist will also be previewed and discussed during this fall’s Counting Kids workshops.
Call (785) 296-4976 or email auditing@ksde.org with questions.
Is vaping an issue at your school? Are you ready to address it and get students connected to the help they need? If yes, enroll in the Kansas Vaping ECHO for Education program for the 2024-25 school year by Sept. 13.
The Kansas State Department of Education is committed to supporting districts that serve students who are experiencing homelessness. There are live trainings that will be offered on the following dates and times on this topic:
Grant applications for the Fiscal Year 2025 Perkins Reserve grants are now available on the KSDE Carl. D. Perkins webpage.
KSDE’s Information Technology (IT) team is offering a series of webinars hosted by experts to assist school technology directors and staff members, along with superintendents, principals and others who are interested, navigate the complex and critical practices of cybersecurity and data privacy. These 60-minute webinars will take place at 1 p.m. on the third Wednesday of each month starting this month.
The following are reminders for KESA-related trainings as well as in-person and virtual information sessions in September:
KESA facilitator in-person trainings available at education service centers
Training sessions are open to any Kansas educator interested in serving as a School Improvement Day facilitator for KESA. There is still time to register for these September sessions at the following locations:
Next Friday, Sept. 20, is the deadline for all elementary schools to partner with families to complete the Ages & Stages Questionnaires (ASQ).
To advance kindergarten readiness, all Kansas elementary schools are required to partner with families to better understand incoming kindergarten students’ development. The 2024 Snapshot window closes Sept. 20. Schools should administer both the ASQ-3 and ASQ:SE-2 questionnaires to all incoming kindergarten students by Sept. 20.
All data (including pending Family Access screenings and finalized manual screenings) must be entered in ASQ Online by Sept. 27.
Early childhood special education administrators should review and finalize their early childhood outcomes data for the 2023-24 school year by Sunday, Sept. 15.
The Outcomes Part B Web System (OWS) is the online data collection system that Kansas uses to collect the assessment data for Indicator 7 for Part B, one of the 17 indicators reported to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP).
Hosted by Kansas students, the fourth season of "Cool Careers" is now available here from HirePaths.
Do you want to recognize and reward first-year educators in your district? The Kansas Horizon Award program offers school districts the opportunity to honor outstanding teachers after their first year in the classroom.
The program, sponsored by the Kansas State Department of Education, recognizes and rewards first-year teachers who have served as examples of excellent teaching in their elementary or secondary classroom.
Horizon Award winners receive special recognition during the Kansas Exemplary Educators Network (KEEN) state education conference which takes place annually in February, in Topeka.
The Presidential Scholars in Career and Technical Education (CTE) program also offers recognition of high-achieving students who have demonstrated excellence in CTE. This program started in 2016.
These two separate programs require separate nomination forms.
Applications are being accepted for the 2025 United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) and are due Oct. 10. The students selected will be notified after Dec. 1.
The KSDE TASN School Mental Health Initiative is excited to share the following professional development opportunity: Mindfulness and School-Based Yoga: Tools for the Classroom
Teams of four will receive a discount on registration. *Please note: The hotel room block at the Wichita Hyatt Regency is filling up quickly.
Every district must have a district test coordinator and each district test coordinator is required to attend annual security and ethics training before training all other district staff involved in administering state assessments. Each training session will be 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Kansas Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) and Alignment announces the upcoming Kansas MTSS & Alignment Leadership Institute, a dynamic, one-day professional development event tailored for building and district leaders in November.
Districts with virtual learning to complete now have until Dec. 31 to schedule your session(s). Check this recording at the 1:37 time stamp to see if this deadline applies to your district. Districts can use their allotted virtual learning for any 60-minute session(s) in the Professional Learning Catalog. You do not need to hold the session by Dec. 31, but you do need to schedule it before then so that it does not expire.
13: Counting KIDS Workshop, 8:30 a.m.-12 p.m., Hiawatha USD 415 High School Auditorium. Email auditing@ksde.org with questions.
17: School Transportation informational meeting, 9:30 a.m. – 12 p.m., Arkansas City, Avery Learning Center. Questions? Contact Keith Dreiling at kdreiling@ksde.org or (785) 296-4567.
17: School Transportation informational meeting, 9:30 a.m. – 12 p.m., Great Bend, Front Door Community Center. Questions? Contact Keith Dreiling at kdreiling@ksde.org or (785) 296-4567.
The Kansas State Department of Education’s teacher licensure program has recently made some updates to a frequently asked questions (FAQ) fact sheet for the licensure literacy requirement that will go into effect in 2028.
Those updates are as follows:
As part of a social studies methods class to learn how to teach content that involves history and military service, Washburn University hosted a group of veterans and education majors during an event on the Topeka school’s campus this past week.
“Our veterans get to tell their stories and our students get to listen to those stories,” said Cherry Steffen, a professor of education and chair of the Washburn University School of Applied Studies. “It’s ‘let me hear your voice and what message should I be sharing with my students?’”
Members of the Kansas State Board of Education will consider approving American Sign Language (ASL) as part of the higher education educator preparation standards for Pre-K-12 world languages during their monthly meeting, Sept. 10-11, in Topeka.
A committee of ASL educators and world languages educators convened to review the world languages preparation standards and revise them to include features of ASL, such as expanding references to speaking to include signing, and identifying a minimum proficiency level for ASL educators. This was after the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) received inquiries from an ASL task force about Pre-K-12 ASL teacher qualifications as a content area for which the KSDE teacher licensure program didn’t have an established license.
KSDE will host a webinar from 11-11:30 a.m., on Sept. 12, to review important updates to the recording and reporting requirements for all districts that used federal funds for capital improvement projects or materials, or for services for capital improvements.
The Dropout Graduation Summary Report (DGSR) will open Oct. 1. Districts should validate data across all K-12 levels between now and Oct. 1 to ensure accurate reporting for the DGSR.
Whether you are new to the Educator Data Collection System (EDCS) or just want a refresher, these trainings are for you. Each session, either in-person or by Zoom, will cover the same information.
EDCS For Beginners (in-person)
Sept. 6: 8 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Chanute USD 413; district board office, 321 E. Main Street
Facilitator: Kelly Colter
The Accreditation Advisory Council (AAC) is currently seeking applicants for several open positions. The council consists of about 40 education professionals who represent a variety of roles and perspectives in Kansas education. This group provides input and recommendations to KSDE and advises KSDE staff on accreditation related topics.
On Sept. 4, Kansas Ages & Stages Questionnaires (ASQ) Online users received the fourth installment of Kansas Kindergarten Readiness Snapshot News & Updates, a five-part guide to a successful start to the kindergarten year.
Each edition provides proven resources to guide Kansas educators through each step of the Ages & Stages Questionnaires® (ASQ®) screening process. If you are not a Kansas ASQ Online user, you can visit https://agesandstages.com/ks to sign up for these emails and view past newsletters.
Early childhood special education administrators should review and finalize their early childhood outcomes data for the 2023-24 school year by Sept. 15.
The KSDE Career and Technical Education (CTE) program is offering technical assistance in September and October. Click on the education service center links below to register. Registration is $35 and includes lunch.
A free, online professional development resource is available to view for preschool through middle school educators.
Click here to access the virtual session, hosted by HirePaths. Speakers include Kansas Education Commissioner Dr. Randy Watson, educators from across the state and others, who share how to incorporate career exploration into the classroom. You will find tangible tips, and a certification for continuing education credit may be downloaded.
In partnership with the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE), the Kansas Department for Children and Families identified more than 117,300 Kansas school-aged children who were eligible to receive benefits to offset the cost of groceries during the summer break. The families of these children were automatically issued benefits in July.
Schools can share Summer EBT Fact Sheets (available in English and in Spanish) so that families who did not automatically receive benefits may access this program.
Families who didn’t receive Summer EBT benefits but believe they have an eligible child may apply through the DCF online self-service portal at https://cssp.kees.ks.gov/apspssp/ssp.portal until Sept. 11.
The KSDE TASN School Mental Health Initiative is excited to share the following professional development opportunity:
Mindfulness and School-Based Yoga: Tools for the Classroom
If students are gaining decoding skills and STILL struggling with comprehension, what might be the problem? Join us to learn from a leading scholar about Developmental Language Disorder, or DLD.
KSDE will host a free webinar with Dr. Tiffany Hogan to teach educators about DLD, 4-5 p.m., on Tuesday, Sept. 24. (registration link below). You will learn what this disorder looks like alongside dyslexia; how it may present without dyslexia; and how we might identify it with our youngest of students and get them the help they need before they struggle with comprehension as they get older.
There will be a follow-up panel discussion with Dr. Hogan and Kansas educators and specialists, 4-5 p.m., on Oct. 8.
Contact scheduling@renaissance.com for more information, schedule sessions here, and/or join Sheleena Clark for professional learning office hours for assistance on Sept. 19 in the morning or afternoon.
6: Counting KIDS Workshop, 8:30 a.m.-12 p.m., Maize USD 266 Performing Arts & Aquatic Center. Email auditing@ksde.org with questions.
6: Curriculum leader meeting, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Fort Hays State University Union Ballroom. Questions? Contact Pat Bone, pbone@ksde.org or (785) 296-2303.
9: Counting KIDS Workshop, 1-4:30 p.m., Southeast Kansas Education Service Center, Girard. Email auditing@ksde.org with questions.
9: KESA 2.0 monthly Zoom update, 10:30-11:15 a.m. Click here for the Zoom link. (Mark your calendars for these future Zoom meetings: Oct. 14, Nov. 11, Dec. 9, Jan. 13, Feb. 10, March 10, April 14, and May 12.) Email accreditation@ksde.org with questions.
10-11: Kansas State Board of Education meeting, Topeka.
As another school year begins, three generations of educators in southeast Kansas – one retired and two in the classroom – share what experiences and advice they’ve given and received over the years that helped make them the teachers they are today.
KSDE will host a webinar from 11-11:30 a.m., on Sept. 12, to review important updates to the recording and reporting requirementsfor all districts that used federal funds for capital improvement projects or materials, or for services for capital improvements.
A new tool, “Checklist for School Districts’ Annual KSDE Audit,” clearly identifies documents required for the audit, including a short list of items to upload in advance of your district’s scheduled audit. The checklist is available on the KSDE Fiscal Auditing (ksde.org) webpage under the heading, “Audit Guides.” The checklist will also be previewed and discussed during this fall’s Counting Kids workshops.
The Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) will host E-Rate training sessions in October. Don Dietrich and Lori Thompson from BTU Consultants will conduct five in-person sessions across the state to discuss the E-Rate program's opportunities and requirements.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced a cybersecurity pilot program that will allocate up to $200 million to selected schools and libraries. Schools must apply and be chosen to participate in this three-year initiative.
Training sessions are open to any Kansas educator interested in serving as a School Improvement Day facilitator for KESA
If you were unable to join KSDE’s Accreditation and Design on Aug. 12 for the first KESA monthly update, here are the slides and a recording of the meeting.
The next monthly update is scheduled for 10:30-11:15 a.m. on Sept. 9. Slides and recordings of these monthly updates are available on this webpage after every meeting.