Back in July 2020, USD 456 - Marais des Cygnes Valley decided to take the initiative to join the Kansas Department of Education's School Redesign Project as part of the Apollo II cohort of schools. With the mindset of working through adversity and uncertainty amidst a pandemic, staff felt it important to commit to a school improvement process with a keen eye on the design of our building systems and operations. During the course of this school year, our staff "Pilots" have taken time to survey, analyze, brainstorm, create, test, revise and implement plans to enhance the success of our students. This has occurred over the course of many professional development trainings, team meetings, and group planning sessions. Simply put, our staff has put in a significant amount of time and effort to make this initiative a successful one for our buildings and its' students.
With that said, we are pleased to announce that our Redesign Project plans for the elementary, junior high, and high school have all been APPROVED FOR LIFTOFF!!!
Plans for each building's Redesign Project will be communicated in due time so that it is relevant and appropriate for the initiative it is intended to address. We are excited to implement our plans for the coming year!
Background: Since August of 2017, KSDE has integrated 71 school districts into the Redesign Project. In order to be considered for the project, districts must be able and willing to completely redesign one elementary and/or one secondary school around KSDE's vision, outcomes and definition of a successful high school graduate. Each district also must be willing to launch a new school redesign in the 2021-2022 school year and be willing to serve as a demonstration district for others in Kansas to study, learn and visit.
For more information on KSDE's School Redesign Project, please click HERE.