A week ago, President Obama signed a law that left the No Child Left Behind Act in the dust, and USD 383 board members spared no expense on Wednesday evening when poking fun at the bill that had serious repercussions for educators over the last 14 years. Now, the “Every Student Succeeds Act” will supposedly funnel billions of dollars into education and adopt higher academic standards in every state.
Carol Adams, Executive Director of Learning and Education, shared the results of the this springs’ state testing. According to Adams, the ESSA will give states more power when determining state standards as well as how to conduct their testing. Kansas’s new test-grading scale abandons words such as “exemplary” and “exceeding expectations” for a numerical grading scale between one and four, with four being the best. Adams was pleased with how Manhattan students performed, saying this first testing period will be a “benchmark” for years to come. Many students scored the coveted three-and-four scores, which infer which students will be placed on college and career bound tracks.
Adams said not all was perfect, noting a significant drop-off in English scores for eighth and tenth graders.
Board members also heard from Randy Weseman, Director of Operations and Budgets for the Kansas Association of School Boards. Earlier in the day, Weseman had conducted public forums that helped him put together data on what the Manhattan community is looking for in their next Superintendent. Board members voiced their opinions, with the main idea being a compassionate leader who can work with a team.
In new business, the board unanimously approved a bid to purchase a new chiller from Associated Equipment of Lenexa, Kan. The chiller costs around $143,000, and will be installed at the Manhattan High East Campus. Manhattan High Assistant Principal Michael Dorst also spoke to the board about changing the automotive technology curriculum that exists at MHS. The board approved Dorst’s request to add two new classes to the curriculum that is taught in conjunction with Manhattan Area Technical College. Starting next fall, students at MHS will be able to take five classes in automotive technology for free, and have the courses count towards college credit.
