January 13, 2022

On Tuesday, after years of hard work, Kansas City Public Schools received full accreditation from the Missouri State Board of Education, effective immediately. This is a tremendous accomplishment for our students. And we couldn’t have done it without your support. Thank you for choosing KCPS for your family. Thank you for trusting us to educate your children. 

Tuesday’s vote followed a presentation by Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education staff outlining the progress KCPS has made since 2014, when the district was provisionally accredited. Some highlights: 

• In six years, KCPS improved its four-year graduation rate from 68.7% in 2016 to 77.8% in 2021. 
• In 2019, KCPS students exceeded the state’s expectations for academic growth in English Language Arts. In 2021, KCPS students exceeded the state’s expectations for academic growth in math despite the COVID-19 pandemic. (State tests were not administered in spring 2020.) KCPS continues to outpace state expectations for student growth, particularly among students of color. 
• KCPS has been an active participant in DESE’s Regional School Improvement Team (RSIT) process, helping to improve the district’s utilization of data to improve curriculum, instruction, professional development and systems. 
• KCPS has increased the number of high school students taking Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB) and dual credit courses by 34% — and quintupled the number of students scoring 3 or better on these tests.

I hope you will take a minute to celebrate with us this week. Full accreditation is a public acknowledgement of something I have known for a long time: KCPS is a great school district. We have the best kids and the most dedicated staff. Thank you for investing in our schools and our community. Today, we celebrate. Tomorrow, we will continue to set new goals.

Yours in education,

Dr. Mark Bedell, Superintendent

Updated KCPS COVID Protocols, Information

As we’ve started this semester, we’ve been monitoring updated guidance and protocol from both the CDC and our local health department in regard to the spread of COVID-19. We have updated information to share about how KCPS is working to keep our community safe and healthy.

Our Contact Tracing and Isolation/Quarantine Protocol:​

• KCPS will continue to contact trace and isolate/quarantine students and staff​
• Updated Isolation and Quarantine Protocol per CDC guidance ​
  • Was 10 days, is now 5 days per CDC guidance​
  • Staff and students can return Day 6 if symptom-free​
  • Must mask (high quality) and 6 feet social distance days 6-10​
  • Staff must have a negative Antigen test
  • Pre-K and Head Start students must always quarantine/isolate 10 days

Notification of COVID-19 Events:​​

• KCPS will continue to directly notify staff/students/families of cases where they/their child is a case/close contact and need to isolate/quarantine. ​
• General notice of COVID-19 cases will no longer be sent. General COVID-19 information by school site is available on the COVID-19 Data Dashboard under the “COVID-19 Info” tab on the KCPS homepage. 

Continued Strategies with No Changes:​

• Social distancing of three (3) feet to the extent possible
• Frequent hand washing/sanitizing​
• Covering coughs and sneezes​
• Ventilation and air filtration ​
• Continuous cleaning

With a surge in COVID cases due to the Omicron variant, we wanted to make sure you have the most up-to-date information to protect your student and your family. Vaccination is the leading public health strategy to end the pandemic. KCPS encourages all students five years and older and their families to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

Vaccines are safe, effective at preventing severe disease and widely available. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends the COVID-19 vaccine for children five years and older. Nearly 90% of COVID patients in Kansas City hospitals are unvaccinated. Caring for them is straining healthcare resources throughout the city.

COVID vaccines are also widely available at retail pharmacies. Check CVS, Walgreens, HyVee and Price Chopper for appointments.

You can also schedule a COVID-19 booster if you were vaccinated six months ago. Boosters offer the best possible protection against the Omicron variant and are now approved for children and adults 12 and older.

FREE WEEKLY COVID TESTS

As we have throughout the pandemic, KCPS is working with Children’s Mercy Hospital and the Kansas City Health Department to keep our students and staff safe at school. Through our health partners, KCPS provides free weekly COVID testing in all our schools. A weekly test can provide you with peace of mind while helping us understand the spread of COVID in our community. Contact your school nurse to sign up.

Again, we hope that you will consider vaccination and free weekly testing to protect your child and your family. We want your child at school – and healthy!

Auschwitz Exhibit Helps Southeast High School Students Build Reading Skills, Understand Past

For Southeast High School freshman Quazell Pickens, visiting “Auschwitz: Not Long Ago, Not Far Away” at Union Station stirred up many emotions.

“They had a lot of stuff from back then,” Quazell said. “There was blood on the clothes. It was scary.”

Quazell said he knew that Auschwitz was a death camp where Jews were killed during the Holocaust. But seeing the exhibit with his class drove home the brutality of the Nazi guards.

Karyl Michel, the reading interventionist at SEHS, organized the field trip for her ninth grade reading intervention students. Students in her class have gaps in reading skills, often in background vocabulary.

Click here to read the full story. 

Activate Your Infinite Campus Parent Portal Today

Infinite Campus' Parent Portal allows parents/guardians to access academic information and other student records, including schedules, attendance, behavior, assignments, progress reports, grades, school-related fees and school email messages.

• See your student's current and past grades
• View attendance and behavior records
• Update personal information
• Receive news and information from KCPS

To create your Parent Portal account:

1. Call the Help Desk at (816) 418-HELP (4357) OR contact your school secretary to receive the activation code
2. Visit our website for step-by-step instructions on creating your account and using the Parent Portal at https://www.kcpublicschools.org/infinite-campus

View the Infinite Campus Parent Portal Flyer for more details on how to activate your parent portal account.

District Advisory Committee: We Need Your Help!

The KCPS District Advisory Council will meet from 6 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 18, and everyone is invited to attend! This month's meeting will be virtual via Zoom with Spanish interpretation available so everyone can attend.

The DAC addresses school issues and concerns, allows you to share ideas and solve problems cooperatively and helps advise the district’s Board of Directors. Our schools need the support of parents and guardians to succeed and DAC is a great way to get more involved with our schools. We hope to see you there!