Please don't pass a stopped bus!

Reposted from the Kansas State Department of Education 

August 21, 2014

For Immediate Release

  

2014 survey shows motorists continue to pass stopped school buses

Kansas, one of 29 states participating in survey

TOPEKA – The National Association of State Directors for Pupil Transportation Services recently released the results of its annual survey of illegal passing of school buses. Kansas was one of 29 states to participate in a one-day survey of school bus drivers who were asked to report the number of times motorists passed school buses illegally. More than 97,000 school bus drivers reported a combined total of 75,966 vehicles passed their buses in a single day. Throughout a 180-day school year, these sample results point to more than 13 million violations by private motorists.

In Kansas, 2,221 school bus drivers reported a total of 798 instances of motorists illegally passing school buses in a single day. “With schools back in session and kids getting on and off buses, it is even more critical for drivers to slow down, be vigilant and follow the law,” said Keith Dreiling, Kansas State Department of Education School Bus Safety Director. “Motorists should never pass a school bus with its stop sign engaged and lights flashing. It only takes a split second to make a bad decision that could change lives forever.”

School bus drivers activate the warning lights (amber lights) prior to activating the red flashing lights and stop arm, allowing drivers time to slow down and stop. Drivers are not to proceed until the school bus resumes motion or the flashing red lights and the stop signal arm are no longer actuated. The public should be aware that anytime they see a school bus with its warning system activated they are in close proximity of school children. Under Kansas statute (K.S.A. 8-1556) drivers who choose to disregard school bus warning systems may be subject to a $315 fine plus court costs, which range from $108-$110.

2014 survey results are available at: http://www.ksde.org/Agency/FiscalandAdministrativeServices/SchoolFinance/SchoolBusSafety/SchoolBusSafetyIllegalPassingInfromation.aspx.

Keep Your Kids Safe Online This Summer

The following comes from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security

June 2014 Bulletin

Focus on Internet Safety This June

With kids out of school for the summer, it’s easy for parents and kids to shift their focus from education to fun. Parents want to make sure their kids are having fun and staying safe at the same time, and this should apply to all activities, from riding bikes to swimming to being online. Summer means kids will have more free time, which may mean more time on the computer. June is National Internet Safety Month, a time to reflect on our current online behavior and commit to being more responsible and safe online.

This June, the Stop.Think.Connect. Campaign encourages parents and educators to start an Internet safety dialogue with their children and students. Topics can include:

· How to practice online safety every day. Discuss clicking on links, talking to strangers, setting strong passwords, and how to avoid sharing too much personal information online.

· Being a good online citizen. Explain the importance of treating others online with respect and avoid saying or writing things online that you would not say in person.

· When to report suspicious people or activity. Encourage kids to talk to trusted adults when someone online is making them feel uncomfortable or unsafe.

Parents can take steps to ensure that the Internet is safer for their kids by setting up appropriate firewalls and safe searches and monitoring their kids’ Internet use. For more resources on how help your kids practice online safety, review Stop.Think.Connect.’s Resources for Parents and Educators, which includes a booklet on how to chat with your kids about being online.

The Price of Success

This will be a short blog. One of my principals, Mr. Morrow shared a great link to a great story I believe should be spread around. Whether you are a KU fan (Rock Chalk - I am) or K-State (I still like them though I kid the die-hard fans) or the WSU Shockers (I'm an alum, so of course I'm a fan), you'll have to love the attached link about one of the Shockers. It demonstrates the price of success, the hard work it takes to achieve it, and the love of our parents, step-parents, and coaches that may drive us crazy, but some day we appreciate.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1980324-how-fred-vanvleets-stepdad-made-him-the-perfect-point-guard-for-wichita-state

Facts About Funding

As we are about to enter yet another legislative session, there will be much rhetoric and misinformation regarding school funding, services, etc. USD 331 contracted with Southwest Plains Regional Service Center following the Kansas Learning Network (KLN) evaluation of the schools after the district was placed “on improvement” prior to the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year. USD 331 has not been “on improvement” status for two years now.

The improvement process was begun when district special needs students were not scoring at adequate levels on assessments. KLN findings included recommendations of evaluating and improving curriculum, hiring a district level curriculum director, development and implementation of walk-through observations, improvement of instruction and further integrating technology. These were just a few of the recommendations that have been developed and implemented or are under the implementation process. Completing these initiatives has been especially difficult since the deepest cuts in educational funding occurred at nearly the same time. However, several new curriculum adoptions have occurred and a curriculum leadership team has begun the process of writing the curriculum for all grade levels and subject areas. The walk-through staff observation tool was adopted and been modified to reflect best practices and research-based instructional techniques. As a result, along with changes in educational policies, neither the district nor any of its buildings are currently “on improvement” status by the state department of education.

The bar has been set higher again with the adoption of Kansas College and Career Readiness standards. Annually, the Board of Education has adopted and revised a strategic success plan to emphasize improvement goals for the district schools that includes meeting or exceeding standards. Professional learning is the key way improvements can be attained in instruction, curriculum development and preparation of our kids for their post secondary education and future careers. This is a difficult challenge when school funding is limited while all costs of educating our students increase. Furthermore, with reduced state aid, local property taxes continue to rise. Though USD 331 was able to keep the tax levy stable, it would have been lower if the state legislature met its legal obligation of funding the current school budget formula. In USD 331, since the state is not fully funding its legal equalization share of the local option budget, the property tax mill levy is 2.57 mills. Simply put, local taxpayers could be paying 2.57 mills less. State equalization is not funded at all with regard to capital outlay that also costs the local taxpayers and the base aid per pupil funding law is supposed to be $4492. We received $3838 this school year.

The CEO and consultants of Southwest Plains Regional Service Center, along with a subcommittee of superintendents, developed the attached “K-12 Education Funding – The Clear Facts.”  As you review the document, I trust you will find the vision is clear and it is powerful. If you have questions, do not hesitate to contact me. We need all of your support to continue helping improve student learning opportunities. Every one of us benefits.

Thank you and best wishes for a wonderful new year!

The Transformation of Learning

The Transformation of Learning

The following is an excerpt of an article sent by ESSDACK Director, Dr. Mike Cook, to superintendents. This is not the full article, but identifies many of the challenges school districts are facing as USD 331 moves to provide blended learning with the use of Edgenuity, meet new Kansas College and Career Readiness Standards, implement Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) programs and our district’s commitment to do so by implementation of Project Lead the Way and many more initiatives currently under way. The teacher is a vital part of the learning, but we are in a transition of learning to teach in new ways. (Appropriate credit for the author and journal is listed at the end of the article.)

Today’s Internet connectivity makes accessible the sum of all human knowledge and over two billion people who can teach it to you. Let’s pause for a moment to think about the impact of that innovation. It’s huge beyond reckoning. In fact, when measuring shifts in human history, researchers such as Robert Darton from Harvard University have said this is one of the four most fundamental changes in information in human history, ranking it with the creation of alphabets for writing, the development of the first books and the invention of the printing press.

With the advent in just the last few years of a truly interactive World Wide Web where people of all ages and all interests can create and share their ideas, a time of real educational transformation is at hand. As billions of people from all parts of the globe begin to communicate, collaborate and connect in fresh and creative ways, their use of technology is challenging the traditional structures of business, journalism, politics and, ultimately, education. What happens to journalism when everyone has his or her own printing press? What happens to politics when constituents can have their own voices heard by large Internet audiences? What happens to businesses when their consumers can easily converse widely about their products? And what happens to schools when the sum of human knowledge and thousands of potential teachers are available at the click of a mouse?

Educators are just beginning to face these questions. For the first time, more than just the privileged few in our society have easy access to knowledge in the form of a digital library overflowing with relevant, diverse, high-quality information. No longer are teachers the sole arbiters of knowledge. No longer do classroom walls limit the reach of students’ work. No longer is learning restricted to small blocks of time over weeks or months. It’s a time where the learner has become empowered, and the monopoly that schools had on learning up until the 1990s is far behind us, and fading in the rear view mirror.

These changes do not mean that we should abandon proven best practices of schooling that support teacher growth and student achievement, or that meaningful face-to-face relationships between teachers and students are any less important. Students still need to learn many of the same basic skills as they always have. But it does mean that many of our long-held beliefs about schooling are being challenged by new technologies that allow learners to create networks of trusted mentors in meaningful communities of practice, and to share widely the fruits of their efforts.

In short—it’s a brave, new, interconnected world—and we have to figure out how to teach in it.

 This is an excerpt taken from the following Journal and author:

PERSPECTIVES: a Journal of Research and Opinion About Educational Service Agencies, Volume 19, 2013 (4); How 21^st Century Service Agencies Create 21^st Century Schools: Using research and data to target services and meet the diverse technology needs of member districts by Rob Mancabelli.

Setting the Record Straight on School Employees and Spending

A Report by Mark Tallman, Associate Executive Director of the Kansas Association of School Boards

Note by Bob Diepenbrock, Superintendent of Schools:

I’m sure many of you have heard radio and TV ads depicting Kansas Schools as failing to spend money in the classrooms while spending more on a number of other areas in schools and increasing expenditures as a whole. Mark Tallman and the research department at the Kansas Association of School Boards further explain how the expenditures of money in Kansas schools are spent and take into account much of what the ads do not. I encourage you to use the link below to access Mr. Tallman’s report and get the facts on how monies are spent in Kansas on education and if you have questions to contact me, the Kansas Association of School Boards or the Kansas State Department of Education. Mr. Tallman even has a number of links providing the sources of his reports.

http://tallmankasb.blogspot.com/2013/10/setting-record-straight-on-school.html

Digital Citizenship Week in Kansas

Every day, our students are tested with each post, search chat, text message, file download and profile update. Do they connect with like minds or spill too much information? Do they behave creatively or borrow ideas recklessly? Do they respect relationships or inadvertently damage reputations?

The Kansas State Department of Education and USD 331 have made a commitment to support educators and parents in helping children learn how to be safe and secure, responsible and respectful digital citizens. Governor Sam Brownback has proclaimed Oct 21-25 as Digital Citizenship Week in Kansas.  The proclamation/announcement is available on www.ksde.org/take . 

Join us for Digital Citizenship Week and engage your child and family in thinking critically, behaving safely, and participating responsibly online. For ways you can participate, click on the link below:  http://www.ksde.org/Default.aspx?tabid=2775

We want all students in USD 331 to utilize the internet for positive learning and to remain safe.