Kansas Commissioner of Education Dr. Randy Watson notified Parsons USD 503 it is being honored by the state through the 2024 Kansas Can Star Recognition Program for its efforts to educate students at a very high level.
“I am excited when I get the opportunity to celebrate in your success. USD 503 Parsons has been doing great work with students that deserves to be recognized. Through the Kansans Can Star Recognition Program, I’m able to do just that,” Watson said. “Thank you for everything you do to ensure Kansas leads the world in the success of each student!
KSDE recognizes districts that are doing exceptional work towards the state’s vision for education. Kansas leads the world in the success of each student.
The program honors districts and systems for excelling in outcomes established around the vision for education in the state – Kansas leads the world in the success of each student.
The vision was announced in 2015 by the Kansas State Board of Education and KSDE. A new accreditation model, Kansas Education Systems Accreditation (KESA), was announced shortly after. KESA accredits at the system level to create systemic change among school buildings in a district.
The Kansans Can Star Recognition Program is designed to support the KESA process by providing a level of recognition that helps districts identify where they want to focus their improvement efforts.
The program recognizes district achievement in eight areas, which are broken into quantitative and qualitative measures. Districts must apply for recognition in the qualitative measures area.
District recognition in the quantitative measures area is automatically calculated by KSDE based on collected district data. No application is necessary.
There are 4 areas of awards possible in quantitative measures: Academically prepared for postsecondary, high school graduation, postsecondary success and Commissioner’s Award. These recognitions are automatically calculated by KSDE based on collected district data. The district received a bronze star for graduation rate.
There are 4 areas of awards possible in qualitative measures. Districts must apply to be recognized in these areas: Social emotional growth, kindergarten readiness, individual plan of study, and civic engagement.
The district applied for both social-emotional growth and individual plan of study. The district was awarded a bronze star in individual plans of study and a silver star in social-emotional growth. In the area of social-emotional growth, only 25 silvers were awarded across the state and one gold. Only 20 bronzes, four silvers and one gold were awarded for individual plan of study,
Parsons is honored to be among the few recipients of these awards.
“These are big accomplishments and something to be very proud of,” Superintendent Lori Ray said.
Kansas Commissioner of Education Dr. Randy Watson announced the recipients of this year’s awards during the Kansas State Board of Education’s October meeting. The recipients will also be announced and celebrated at KSDE’s annual conference, Great Ideas in Education: Lighting the Path Forward, Oct. 23-25, in Wichita.