Accreditation is only a start for Kansas City schools. Here’s the plan for what’s next

Kansas City Public Schools finally earned full state accreditation on Tuesday, but at a celebration that afternoon, district officials emphasized that the milestone is only the beginning.

At a press conference filled with administrators, elected officials, teachers and others who have helped make the decades-long feat possible, they laid out a bold range of plans to improve the district, so that it not only maintains accreditation but can begin to attract more families, including those who have been leaving for charter schools or the suburbs.

“We can’t stay accredited on the path that we’re on right now. We’re antiquated. We’re outdated,” said Superintendent Mark Bedell, who received credit from many on Tuesday for helping bring the district up to par. “And if COVID didn’t teach us anything, here’s what it did teach us, that we’re not agile enough to really, truly prepare these kids for the future that they deserve. That means we have to dismantle this system. We have to redesign it.”

The proposals officials presented Tuesday include:

▪ Lobbying to have state education laws changed so that schools can operate on more flexible hours. For example, if students need to work or care for siblings in the morning, they could attend school until 8 p.m.

▪ Introducing kindergartners to foreign language and third graders to instrumental music.

▪ Providing more internships and job shadowing opportunities, as well as project-based learning for students to tackle real-world problems.

▪ Seeing through the district’s next long-term plan, which, as previously announced, could include consolidating schools with low enrollment so that the district can expand programs for more students.

Gaining full accreditation will go a long way, Bedell said, in assisting the district’s progress.

“A strong, vibrant, robust school district in the urban sector bodes well for this whole city,” Bedell said.

KCPS lost accreditation in 2011 and has been only provisionally accredited since 2014. It has been working ever since to meet state standards to regain its full accreditation. Tuesday morning, the Missouri State Board of Education granted that accreditation unanimously, effective immediately.

KCPS has come far, Bedell said, working to overcome the negative perceptions during the desegregation era and decades following. The district had lost accreditation before, in 2000. “People formed this opinion of a school district through a truly deficit lens,” he said.

When Bedell joined the district, he said his focus was putting a strategic plan in action to “make things better for kids who have intentionally been placed into a hopeless scenario based on how the system has been set up.”

Starting his sixth year with the district, Bedell is now KCPS’ longest-serving superintendent in more than 50 years.

The district has improved student achievement and graduation rates and has increased the number of high school students taking Advanced Placement and dual credit courses — all accomplishments cited in the state education board’s decision to restore accreditation.

District officials are crafting their next long-term plan, Blueprint 2030, aimed at fixing inefficiencies by potentially consolidating under-enrolled schools, expanding and improving programs, and ensuring all students have access to the same opportunities districtwide.

Deputy Superintendent Jennifer Collier on Tuesday laid out several goals the district is now tackling, including improving proficiency rates for all students and implementing more project-based learning, where students will research and find solutions to complex questions and real world issues.

In addition to adding foreign language and instrumental music for younger students, secondary schools, she said, will move toward a more competency-based model for students to learn at their own pace.

“As an urban school system serving students who predominantly represent historically marginalized communities and groups, we must ensure that we rethink and reimagine an educational experience that enables them to boldly pursue their passions, their interests, as they become the best versions of themselves,” Collier said.

District officials also emphasized that many KCPS students need flexibility not afforded in districts today.

Tuesday morning, Bedell pleaded with the state board of education, saying that a change in legislation is needed for KCPS to offer a school day with expanded hours for students who need it.

“Give me the flexibility,” he said, “with a future high school schedule that allows for us to have schools open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and to innovate in a way that will allow for us to adjust to the demands of the market.”