Fueling the Body and Mind in the School of the Future

A healthy diet. Regular exercise. Unplugging from technology. Sound familiar? Those are all things that adults know they should do. The same goes for kids, but just like grownups, they can fall short — sometimes through no fault of their own. But schools are helping pick up the slack — providing nutritious meals, getting kids…

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Educators And Execs Welcome Workforce Development Collaboration

“Our students are not widgets!” Certainly that is the sentiment of educators who see business involvement in schools as “putting in orders” for workers. Yet that refrain might be less common in an era when the whole notion of career and technical education is evolving way beyond shop class. Maybe that’s because each side understands…

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Southwest High was Once a Premier School. What Happened?

A collage of black and white photos from Southwest High School, circa 1970.

It boasts notable graduates, including acclaimed rapper Tech N9ne, the wealthy founders of H&R Block and celebrated journalist Calvin Trillin. Now Southwest High School is in decay and part of a heated debate about the future of public education in Kansas City. The building still looks beautiful on the outside. Towering Corinthian columns and a…

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Candidates to Replace Sly James Compete for Likes

Kansas City mayoral candidates in the auditorium at East High School

The idea seemed far-fetched when it was first suggested in October to East High School teacher Katharine Perna. What if her multiculturalism and social justice class could persuade the nine leading mayoral candidates to answer questions, in person, crafted by the students themselves? On Wednesday night, before an audience of about 150 people in the…

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Grading the Soft Skills

two young women at work, one on computer, one with a pencil

It’s the time-honored question from students: when are we going to use this in real life? But as we have seen in this season of Take Note, schools are increasingly focused on the “soft” skills that are relevant for the workplace, such as critical thinking and team work. That brings up another question for the…

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