KSDE Newsroom

November

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. 

30: Data entry for Emergency Safety Intervention (ESI) reports begins. Contact Trish Backman, tbackman@ksde.org, with questions.     

December 

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. Register here. Contact Lea Harding at lea@kanasmtss.org with questions. 

3: Kansas MTSS and Alignment regional reading road show, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Dodge City, Boot Hill Casino & Resort. Register here. Contact Vicki Cooper, vicki@kansasmtss.org, with questions. 

 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.”  

“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. 

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:

• Students' personal device use in school;  
• Screen time and mental health; and  
• Parental oversight of district-owned devices.  

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.   

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.  

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.