Take Note
American Graduate Day
American Graduate Day 2017 is a four-hour, live broadcast and outreach event dedicated to engaging our country around the dropout crisis with special celebrity guests, relevant spokespeople and compelling stories from the students themselves. Earlier this year, KCPT and Take Note collected community nominations of local champions of education and profiled two individuals, Ken Heitland…
Looking to Bear Fruit
In the orchards of Lafayette County, which is located just to the north and east of Kansas City, the peaches are giving way to apples. While locals and immigrant laborers work the land, the county’s educators have joined together to take on another type of harvest — young minds. Educators throughout Lafayette County came together…
Switching The Script
Nearly two decades ago, Atlanta aimed to revitalize its crime-plagued “Little Vietnam” neighborhood, and an innovative charter known as the Drew School was a key part of the project. Today, Drew is ranked as one of Scholastic’s 25 Coolest Schools in America. And Little Vietnam is held up as an example of a successful…
Understanding Trauma-Informed Care
School districts around the region are embracing the idea that educators must understand underlying issues, such as a violent home life or a history of sexual abuse, that are driving bad behavior or poor academic performance among students. It’s a concept called trauma-informed care, and its proponents include the National Center for Trauma-Informed Care and…
Feeding the Mind
Education and nutrition go hand in hand. If a child is hungry or malnourished, it’s a good bet they can’t concentrate on their studies. That premise underpins the federal school-lunch and school-breakfast programs, which provide free- or reduced-price meals to millions of at-risk students each year. So, class breaks are a challenge for families that…
If These Walls Could Talk
Over the course of past month, Take Note has been listening to area youth as we explore the intersection of trauma and education. We went to Blue Valley to learn about their new mental health resources in “We Struggle, Too,” we ventured to Blue Springs where a young graduate shared his remarkable story through “In His…
Trauma-Informed Care Transforms Lee’s Summit School
Summit Ridge Academy administrators knew that old-school discipline wasn’t cutting it. Instead of suspension, many kids at the Lee’s Summit “alternative school” — which serves middle and high school students who need a different learning environment — simply needed adult support and better coping skills. Some of the students live with a parent suffering from…
Forging Their Own Path
Kenya Davis is a product of the Kansas City, Kansas, school district, as is her oldest daughter. But Davis’ enthusiasm for public schools waned when her youngest daughter, Sasha, entered Kansas City Public Schools. Sasha attended John T. Hartman Elementary for kindergarten, but Davis moved her to Troost Elementary the next year in search of…
Summer Meal Programs Work, But …
The quest to address childhood hunger in the Kansas City region unites concerned citizens of all types around one of the most admired programs in our area: BackSnacks Run by Harvesters — The Community Food Network, the program sends 19,000 needy children home from school with backpacks filled with weekend meals. As the largest program…
We Struggle, Too
There’s a perception that the grass is greener in the Blue Valley School District. That may be. After all, the academic scores are consistently high, the facilities are immaculate, and incomes are significantly above average. But when students return for the fall semester they’ll find a major new investment has been made in treating mental…