Kansas City, Mo. School District Receives Support for High School Transformation

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Kansas City, Missouri School District today announced a $6.1 million investment by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support transformation of its high schools. The grant advances the district’s comprehensive school reform initiative, Achievement First!, which has already begun in the district’s four comprehensive high schools—Central, Southeast, Northeast and Van Horn. The award will also support planning for reform at Paseo Academy, a district-wide school for the performing arts, during the 2003-2004 school year.

“The students of Kansas City, Missouri are the big winners,” says Bernard Taylor, Jr., superintendent of the district. “Support from the Gates Foundation will help our principals and teachers continue their tremendous progress developing high schools where students get a strong academic foundation. The award from the foundation is also a measure of how far we have come as a district.”

The major components of Achievement First! are:

Small Learning Communities—Schools reorganize into small learning communities with no more than 350 students and a group of 10-14 teachers in each one. Each small learning community has a theme, and students stay in that community throughout high school.

Family Advocates—Every student and family has an advocate, a faculty or staff member who works with them to set and meet the student’s goals and who keeps in touch with families. Students and families have the same advocate throughout high school.

Instructional Improvement—Teachers gain intensive training and on-site coaching in new ways to help them actively engage students in their own learning; to increase the rigor of what students are expected to know and be able to do; and to have students’ work aligned with state standards and high stakes assessments.

Focus on Reading and Math— Students behind in reading and math double the time they spend on these subjects. New materials and instructional techniques strengthen the focus on reading and math throughout the curriculum.

“We as a nation must fulfill our promise that opportunity is available to all by ensuring all students have access to high-quality high schools,” says Tom Vander Ark, executive director of education at the Gates Foundation.  “We want to acknowledge with appreciation the leadership role played by the Kauffman Foundation in bringing this opportunity to us. Along with the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, we consider Kauffman to be an important colleague in this enterprise as the program moves forward.”

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation has supported the district’s reform efforts from its beginning, first supports the district’s review of reform models and then following with $500,000 for planning Achievement First! in the four comprehensive high schools.

When the four comprehensive high schools open their doors this fall, students and teachers will spend most of each school day in small learning communities. Last year, schools chose themes for the small learning communities, such as business, engineering/technology, and media/ communications, after surveying students and teachers. This summer, teachers are taking part in intensive professional training and orientations, such as the three-day workshops currently underway at the Business and Technology College.

To plan and implement Achievement First!, the district is working with two national organizations that have strong track records supporting high school reform: the Institute for Research and Reform in Education and Talent Development High Schools of Johns Hopkins University.
 
The award from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation also supports review and planning of the district’s alternative education programs for students who do better academically in a non-traditional setting.  The grant also provides funding to explore the potential for a small, new high school.

The four-year grant from the Gates Foundation will be administered through The Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, which will establish a new Education Trust for Urban Kansas City to oversee the grant.

On the Internet:
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, www.gatesfoundation.org
Kansas City Missouri School District, www.kcmsd.k12.mo.us