Student poets slam dropout crisis through spoken word contest

Unique Hughley likes to compose poetry by the glow of his iPhone while he walks around at night through the urban core of Kansas City, Missouri, where he grew up. “I grew up in a bad place. I grew up right on Prospect and that’s like a horrible place where I come from,” Hughley said.…

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Summer 101

Picture of marquee sign in front of school

One is trekking through Europe. Another will immerse herself in the performing arts. And many will keep their noses to the grindstone. Those are just some of the summer plans shared with us by teachers from throughout the metropolitan area, as schools closed up shop for the next eight weeks. Here are some of the…

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Kansas City Public Schools partner with community groups to expand summer learning opportunities

From an arts-focused camp with the Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey to swimming lessons through the YMCA to kindergarten boot camp, Kansas City Public Schools is expanding its summer learning offerings through collaborations with community partners. KCPS Superintendent Steve Green announced today that working with partners, including Freedom Schools, Boys and Girls Club, Upper…

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Entrepreneurship, education meet in the form of a hot dog cart

Two men watch as another paints a hot dog cart in front of a garage.

E.B. Wiltz is passionate about three things: good sausage, quality construction and creating better opportunities for young people in the urban core of Kansas City, Mo., through his organization Brother for Another. A construction worker by trade and Cajun by birth, Wiltz got the idea to work with a group of five young men to…

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