Take Note
Stories in conjunction with Take Note: Our City. Our Schools. Our Future. — an in-depth look at education in the Kansas City metropolitan area, where we are, how we got here and where we need to go.
Money Issues Hamper Progress In Some School Districts
What’s the best way to ensure that future generations get the best education possible? For many people, the answer is simple: money. More specifically, these proponents argue that additional funding must go toward attracting and retaining quality teachers — arguably the most important component of the education system. The problem, however, is that school funding…
There Is A Way To Boost Achievement of Low-Income Students
The economic divide is a big driver of educational inequality around the country and here in the Kansas City area. But does that have to be a given? The hope is that the school of the future can narrow the opportunity gap between wealthy and low-income school districts. To a large extent, this means adding…
School Shootings Pit Safety Vs. Pedagogy
In the aftermath of World War II, amidst Cold War tensions with the Soviets, U.S. students practiced “duck and cover” drills to prepare for nuclear attack. Fast forward more than half a century, and one of the most common safety precautions in schools today has nothing to do with a far-off threat; “active shooter” drills…
Kansas City Public Schools Takes Big Step Toward Full Accreditation
The Kansas City Public Schools district is one of just a handful throughout Missouri that is not fully accredited by the state, but that could change based upon annual performance results released today by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The Kansas City district scored an 82.9 percent on the report card, which…
Fueling the Body and Mind in the School of the Future
A healthy diet. Regular exercise. Unplugging from technology. Sound familiar? Those are all things that adults know they should do. The same goes for kids, but just like grownups, they can fall short — sometimes through no fault of their own. But schools are helping pick up the slack — providing nutritious meals, getting kids…
Grading the Soft Skills
It’s the time-honored question from students: when are we going to use this in real life? But as we have seen in this season of Take Note, schools are increasingly focused on the “soft” skills that are relevant for the workplace, such as critical thinking and team work. That brings up another question for the…
Are School Buildings Obsolete?
A “school without walls” is typically a euphuism for a building that substitutes collaborative learning for the standard approach of stationing teachers in front of a classroom full of students. But the internet age has brought us to a point where walls literally are superfluous — where students do their work online as part of…
Ride the Wave: Preparation for the Real World Should Include a Sense of Uncertainty
In some respects, life is like an ocean — vast, unpredictable, and a little scary. That imagery came courtesy of Katie Kimbrell, director of education at the Kansas City Startup Foundation, which works to foster entrepreneurism throughout the city. She actually boiled the idea of the real world down to one word: ambiguity. And as…
Reimagining the School of the Future at Maker Faire KC
Organizers call Maker Faire the Greatest Show (And Tell) on Earth, and Kansas City held its eighth annual version of the international event at Union Station in June. The two-day faire drew crowds to celebrate all things creative — from science to art and anything in between. As part of our Take Note education project, and in conjunction with…
Reimagining the School of the Future at Maker Faire KC
Organizers call Maker Faire the Greatest Show (And Tell) on Earth, and Kansas City held its eighth annual version of the international event at Union Station in June. The two-day faire drew crowds to celebrate all things creative — from science to art and anything in between. As part of our Take Note education project, and in conjunction with…