Shawnee Mission raises money for $70,000 virtual dissection table

Shawnee Mission School District officials used the final “Super Chat” of the school year Thursday night to highlight how they are changing the way students learn science and technology to be better prepared for careers after graduation.

They also used the forum at Indian Hills Middle School to ask parents and the community to help the district buy one or more $70,000 state-of-the-art virtual dissection tables for high school anatomy classes.

Superintendent Jim Hinson characterized the touchscreen tables, which a video presentation showed let students view and manipulate the layers of anatomy on computerized human and animal cadavers, as an example of the resources the district’s students need to be successful.

“If we want that type of learning and opportunity to occur for our students, then I think we have to step up to the challenge,” Hinson said.

After the meeting, he said the district couldn’t buy the tables, which are typically found in medical schools, through its general fund, and its capital outlay dollars are dedicated to school construction and other equipment. Instead, he’s hoping the Shawnee Mission Education Foundation, a separate nonprofit organization that regularly provides grants for district programs, can raise the funds.

“Our kids have tremendous potential and possibility to solve a lot of things we struggle with in this world, in this case in relation to the human body, and a lot of that can take place through technology,” he said.

Earlier in the presentation, Christy Ziegler, assistant superintendent of curriculum and assessment, told the several dozen parents and administrators attending the Super Chat that modern education is far beyond students simply being proficient in subjects like math and English, advancing to using the critical thinking and skills they will need in the workforce.

“It’s not the answer anymore, it’s the question,” Ziegler said. “It’s presenting opportunities for kids to learn without providing the answer or that there’s one way of doing things. It’s giving them the flexibility in the learning process.”

For example, Ziegler brought out a quartet of Rosehill Elementary School fifth-graders — Laine Bartel, Geesha Jayasuriya, Nicole Gilliford and Courtney Setty — who explained their conceptual model of using a 3-D bio-printer to construct human livers for future transplants, potentially avoiding the problem of having to wait for compatible donors.

The project won them an honorable mention this year in the Toshiba/National Science Teachers Association ExploraVision contest.

She also mentioned the work of Shawnee Mission West senior Alexis Allen, who has studied genetic factors influencing cancer, and Shawnee Mission West sophomore Erin Smith, who is investigating the use of cocoa powder to inhibit cancer cell growth.

In addition to science, Ziegler said the district is seeing increasing demand for study programs aimed at specific careers, such as engineering, animal health and law enforcement and public safety, a new program that already has almost 400 students interested for fall. She said the district is also developing a study program aimed at information and communication technology.

“That’s what we hear from the business community, what are the things we can do better to prepare our students for the world ahead?” she said.

The Super Chats this school year have been sponsored by the Shawnee Mission Area Council PTA and are designed to give parents a chance to hear more about where the district is headed and ask Hinson and other district leaders questions directly.

This story was originally published April 5, 2016 at 1:40 PM with the headline "Shawnee Mission raises money for $70,000 virtual dissection table."