Dawn Bormann Novascone
Contributor
Stories by Dawn Bormann Novascone
Jobs in Blue Valley
It took a flood at his family’s business – Custom Truck One Source – to lead a frustrated Chris Ross back to his childhood stomping grounds in the Blue Valley neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri. Custom Truck’s swamped site was located in the East Bottoms, but Ross knew that city leaders had invested millions in…
Learning from Sandy Hook
Part of Nicole Hockley is frozen in a world before Dec. 14, 2012, when her 6-year-old son Dylan would pretend he was a butterfly. “He’s my beautiful baby boy with captivating eyes and infectious giggle and warm deep cuddles. He loved looking at the moon every night. He loved to eat garlic bread, and he…
Looking to Bear Fruit
In the orchards of Lafayette County, which is located just to the north and east of Kansas City, the peaches are giving way to apples. While locals and immigrant laborers work the land, the county’s educators have joined together to take on another type of harvest — young minds. Educators throughout Lafayette County came together…
Trauma-Informed Care Transforms Lee’s Summit School
Summit Ridge Academy administrators knew that old-school discipline wasn’t cutting it. Instead of suspension, many kids at the Lee’s Summit “alternative school” — which serves middle and high school students who need a different learning environment — simply needed adult support and better coping skills. Some of the students live with a parent suffering from…
Summer Meal Programs Work, But …
The quest to address childhood hunger in the Kansas City region unites concerned citizens of all types around one of the most admired programs in our area: BackSnacks Run by Harvesters — The Community Food Network, the program sends 19,000 needy children home from school with backpacks filled with weekend meals. As the largest program…
Working Toward a Solution
Summer internships and jobs might be a rite of passage. But often inner-city kids lose out to well-connected families that cash in favors to land their child a primo position at the bank headquarters. Hire KC Youth — an employment-training program that Mayor Sly James started to place urban teenagers in City Hall jobs —…
Failing To Succeed
Few industry leaders want to point out why their great ideas ultimately fell flat. Jobs, grants, money and pride could be at stake. But on Monday, national education leaders from across the ideological spectrum gathered at a Kansas City conference – “Eye on Education: Failures to Fixes” – to discuss flaws in charter schools, state…
Weighing The Choice Of Charters
Charter schools have traditionally filled a hole left by underperforming districts in Missouri. But what if that structure was radically changed? What if charter schools were allowed by states at the earliest sign of trouble – one lagging school – instead of waiting for an entire school district to slip? Would it help or hurt…
Cracking The Code For Immigrant Students
Tucked within a quiet Kansas City community, Crestview Elementary School is pretty unassuming. But once inside the building, at 4327 N. Holmes St., it’s impossible to miss the multicultural faces in the classrooms or the international flags lining the hallway. A third of Crestview’s 520 students participate in the English Language Learners program, and 45…
Local Action Drives Education Policy
Betsy DeVos has proven to be one of the most controversial players in President Trump’s new lineup, with her conservative ideology inflaming passions as she takes the helm of the Department of Education. But, are her critics taking their eyes off the ball? Perhaps so, argued University of Missouri Political Science Professor Peverill Squire. “The…