Public Engagement Workgroup

To the Editor:

Several critical issues face Kansas citizens, but one in particular will continue to receive much attention, and well it should. Public education, specifically pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade, is facing two significant challenges.
· Is school funding equitable for all children in the state? And,
· Is it adequate for all children in the state?

Both questions are extremely important, but at the heart is a more basic question: Are all Kansas students learning what they need to know and do by the time they graduate in order to contribute to a complex, sophisticated world? The Kansas Learning First Alliance (KLFA) is a unique group working to ensure that the answer is “Yes!” Its mission is clear and ambitious: To make Kansas first in the nation in teaching and learning.”

What is KLFA? It is a partnership of 24 education associations working together to improve the state’s education system, not just the parts, or interests, that brought those organizations to life in the first place.

School board members, principals, superintendents, teachers, parents, curriculum specialists, and other professional educators, along with the Kansas State Department of Education, created KLFA to address challenges that were beyond the scope of any one organization. A 1991 Kansas law (Quality Performance Accreditation) and a 2002 federal law (No Child Left Behind) placed tremendous responsibilities on schools to improve student learning. It will take a collaborative effort from all those entrusted with that charge to reach this goal.

What has KLFA done to fulfill its mission? Since its creation more than five years ago, KLFA has focused on three goals:
1) improving student achievement;
2) strengthening educators’ professional development; and
3) engaging the public in school improvement and student achievement.

Three noteworthy accomplishments have been:
· auditing the state’s math instruction, paid for by a $75,000 grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation;
· hosting a “Community Conversation,” in which almost 750 people discussed current accountability measures and heard from the Governor and the state’s commissioner and assistant commissioner of education; and
· staging several regional and statewide conferences that have brought school districts, education service centers and colleges and universities together to discuss better training opportunities for teachers and principals.

What is KLFA’s future? Much of the work builds on previous success. Other projects are just taking shape. One initiative is to analyze how high performing schools train teachers so that other schools will have models to guide their own improvement efforts. Another project is to develop a foundation so KLFA can pursue additional partnerships, such as the one with the Kauffman Foundation, which will create resources for other studies. Helping Kansans learn more about their schools, their accomplishments and their needs is another ongoing task.

While some schools see challenges as problems, others prefer to see them as opportunities. The former governor of North Carolina said, “Kansas really has a chance to be first in the nation in education.” Who wouldn’t want to be part of the team that had the opportunity to make that a reality? To learn more about KLFA, visit our Web site at http://www.kansaslearningfirst.org/.

Sandee Crowther, Chair
Kansas Learning First Alliance