Supporters speak out for Shawnee Mission college-prep program

The Shawnee Mission School District has not yet determined the fate of its International Baccalaureate degree program, but supporters of the college-preparation diploma are making sure their voices are heard.

Students and parents packed the audience during the school board’s regular meeting Monday, concerned about comments by Superintendent Jim Hinson and others that the International Baccalaureate, or IB, program could be removed as part of a districtwide effort to streamline the menu of college- and career-preparation programs.

“We want our children to have the best education,” said Brian Koon of Overland Park, who said he moved to the area for the schools. “When I hear that one of the signature programs of this district is on the chopping block, I get a little upset.”

The IB program, offered in only eight high schools in Kansas including three in the Shawnee Mission district, is designed to emulate high-level college work through extensive writing and critical thinking courses. Proponents said the program creates well-rounded students who are better prepared for college coursework and that many colleges recognize the value of IB programs.

Hinson had said during a “Super Chat” last week at Indian Woods Middle School and during an interview Monday that school officials were looking at the IB program, as well as others, for elimination.

Braden Pomerantz, a senior IB student at Shawnee Mission Northwest High School, acknowledged that relatively few students enroll in the program, but he said that was because it was new and needed encouragement, not elimination. He said several students wouldn’t have transferred to the district without the IB program.

“Cutting it now would be giving up,” Pomerantz said.

He added that an online petition to preserve IB had collected more than 1,000 signatures from current and former students, teachers and parents.

“All of us understand the inevitable reality of budget cuts,” he said. “However, we believe that cutting IB should not be that solution.”

During the board meeting Monday, the board approved a number of changes to the school curriculum, including adding two new “signature” courses of study beginning in the 2016-2017 school year aimed at preparing students for careers.

The Blue Eagle Program would teach students about law enforcement, public safety and security while the Global Systems program would tie into the Kansas City region’s position as hotbed of biotechnology, teaching students about animal health and sustainable food science.

The district also plans to expand the Project Lead the Way program in all high schools, offering courses in engineering principles and in computer science and software engineering.

Brenda VandenBos of Shawnee said she was disappointed the district appeared to be including more programs aimed at training students for future jobs than preparing them for college.

“I understand the IB program is not for everyone,” VandenBos said. “I understand there’s a need for career-ready programs, but not at the price of college ready” programs.

The board didn’t respond to the speakers during Monday’s meeting. But after the meeting Hinson said officials have made no decisions on IB or other potential changes.

“The things that were approved tonight, I think those are pretty minor,” he said. “But the big decisions, we’re going to have a long conversation about those.”

In other business, the board heard a presentation on how the district stacked up against the state and other Johnson County school districts on annual Kansas College and Career Ready student assessment tests.

According to statistics released last month, 53 percent of Shawnee Mission students in grades 3-10 met English academic expectations for their grade level and appeared to be making progress for college. Forty-two percent scored similarly for math. By comparison, 41 percent of all students tested in Kansas met expectations in English and 32 percent in math.

The district totals for English proficiency ranged from a high of 67 percent in fourth grade to a low of 37 percent in eighth grade. In math, the percentage of students meeting or exceeding expectations ranged from 60 percent in third grade to just 22 percent in eighth grade.

While the district beat the state averages in most categories, it lagged behind several other school districts in Johnson County.

For example, the Blue Valley and De Soto school districts had larger percentages of students meeting or exceeding expectations in English than Shawnee Mission and all but the Spring Hill School District had higher percentages in math.

Ed Streich, the district’s chief academic officer, said the district is re-evaluating its course curriculum and working with teachers to provide the best strategies for teaching the material.

“We’ve got to leverage all of our resources,” Streich said. “It’s not just a textbook, it’s understanding, helping to increase our teachers’ understanding of what the standards are and what the expectations are that allow students to demonstrate mastery of those objectives.”

The board also looked at the district’s results among students who took the ACT college-readiness test. Forty-six percent of test-takers met readiness benchmarks for English composition, algebra, social science and biology. Across Kansas, only 32 percent met the four benchmarks.

The Kansas “report cards,” which can be broken down by district or individual school, are available at http://ksreportcard.ksde.org.

District officials also announced the creation of the Shawnee Mission Resource Connection, an online database of area community organizations and government agencies offering assistance in a number of categories, including food pantries, medical and dental care, clothing centers, utility assistance, mental health or other therapy and housing.

The database is aimed at meeting the needs of district students and their families who may not know what resources are available and can find the resources in one place, Hinson said.

“We want each student to come to school safe, healthy and ready to learn, and this is a helpful step in making this possible,” he said.

The website is available at http://www.smsd.org/community/Pages/Resource-Connection.aspx.

This story was originally published January 26, 2016 at 12:08 PM with the headline "Supporters speak out for Shawnee Mission college-prep program."