(Top left: Wichita USD 259 administrators share information in a small group discussion at the 2025 Great Ideas in Education Conference about what they've done to address quality instruction, one of the four fundamentals of the Kansas school improvement model that serves as the foundation for KESA 2.0 accreditation. Top right: Dr. Jay Scott, director of KSDE accreditation and design, discusses at the 2025 Great Ideas in Education Conference implementation standards for the KESA 2.0 accreditation process.)

A large part of the 2025 Great Ideas in Education Conference, hosted by the Kansas State Department of Education, served as an enhanced school improvement day to kick off the second year of KESA 2.0., a slight departure from past conference formats.  

“A lot of people worked long hours to pull that off,” Kansas Education Commissioner Dr. Randy Watson said of the conference, July 28-30, that drew nearly 500 attendees to Wichita’s Hyatt Regency. “I thought the energy was really good. It allowed for more focused time.”  

Jay Scott and Myron Melton, members of the KSDE accreditation and design team and former principals themselves, agreed that holding the conference in late July was ideal. They noted that this timing gave district leadership teams (DLTs) fewer distractions before the start of the school year, allowing them to concentrate fully on how they will implement their KESA 2.0 action plans for 2025-26.Both Scott and Melton also emphasized the school improvement model that serves as the foundation for KESA 2.0 is meant to ultimately provide support and resources for the implementation of the four fundamentals – structured literacy, standards alignment, balanced assessment and quality instruction – to classroom teachers. 

“The four fundamentals are powerful individually, but true impact comes when they operate as a system,” Scott said. “It’s a model meant to impact instruction. This is a more responsive, nimble process.” 

Jeremy Holloway, superintendent of Oberlin USD 294, said the conference helped show him that he’s able to let his teachers know they’re supported throughout the KESA 2.0 process as his district’s action plan is focused on high quality instruction. He said even though his district is much smaller, listening to Wichita USD 259’s curriculum and instructional administrators share how they have incorporated high quality instruction was helpful. 

“That was a big part of why we came here,” Holloway said, “to see what a bigger district was doing and hear some of the steps they’ve taken. To hear those ideas with a bigger group than what we have, they can put many more minds together, thinking about those things.” 

“Being able to collaborate serves us all,” added Amanda Sharshel, executive director of elementary curriculum and instruction at Wichita USD 259. “Teachers are teachers, kids are kids. Many of our challenges are the same.” 

Anna Stubblefield, superintendent of Kansas City USD 500, said the conference’s emphasis on the school improvement model helped her focus on different aspects of KESA 2.0, like high quality instructional materials. It was also a chance for her to see that districts across the state, regardless of size or demographics, are dealing with many of the same challenges and want to improve outcomes for students. 

“We all have students who have shared experiences,” Stubblefield said. “We all talk about chronic absenteeism; we talk about high performers and at-risk students and how we’re meeting their needs.” 

Another aspect of the Great Ideas in Education Conference Stubblefield found valuable were the school finance sessions that explained how funding is integrated throughout the school improvement process. 

“I think that sort of intentionality is helping us as superintendents and as leaders see how all these things are interconnected and not siloed,” she said. “It will help us make data-based decisions to change the outcomes for students.” 

Click here to see a video wrap-up of the 2025 Great Ideas in Education Conference and the dates for the 2026 and 2027 conferences.