Changes in leadership at the building and district level, as well as the additions of several staff members and teachers, have brought opportunities for growth and change.

The beginning of the school year started with a promising theme, Let’s Grow!, and looking back over the past six months, it is fair to say, “Yes, we have grown, and yes, we continue to grow!”

Standing in the Performing Arts Center on the morning of Aug.

15, I recall speaking with all staff about the school year that lay ahead. My motivation started with having each of them recall a favorite teacher and thinking of the qualities this particular person had. I focused on the importance of being able to define what we are FOR and what we want to be known FOR.

Finally, I challenged them to consider how they wanted our students to remember them and to be the teacher students would look back on one day and say, “I know my teacher cared about me.”

We have much to celebrate!

While the teachers focus on building relationships and creating purpose in the classroom with building leadership, my focus has turned to creating a strategic plan.

It started with public listening sessions. Five guiding questions led each discussion, ranging from, “What are we known FOR?”, to most important, “What do we want to be known FOR?” Eight sessions were held October through December, with attendance including USD 327 staff, the local Kiwanis Club, three meetings with students in grades 9-12 and the public at large: parents, patrons, business leaders and other shareholders who have a vested interest in USD 327. These sessions proved to be valuable in collecting input.

Our next steps will include a work session with the board of education and district site council this month.

These sessions will focus on data collected with the purpose of establishing direction as we continue to move forward in the planning process.

From the beginning, the plan has been to listen, learn and engage. This semester, we have the opportunity to put together a strategic plan which will drive our district for years to come.

This plan started with YOU.

What else is happening in USD 327?

In November and again in December, the board of education discussed class size due to the state legislature passing HB2567 in the spring. This bill, known as the mega bill, for funding public education, included many sections, but one in particular, Section 16, Open Enrollment, clearly defines why we embarked on this conversation.

One comment from the public listening sessions was the appreciation of small class sizes.

The bill, as written and passed, states,“Beginning in the 2024-2025 school year, nonresident students may attend if the USD has open seats.

Each school shall determine capacity at each school for the following school year.”

Knowing the commu- nity values class size, this topic heeded discussion, especially knowing the bill would require us to make this determination by January, 2024 as it is written.

Numbers evaluated throughout the district identified more than 50 out-of-district students currently attending USD 327. Administration, as well as the president and vice president of our local teacher’s union, were consulted and reviewed current classroom numbers, and together, we drafted suggested thresholds for the board’s consideration, the intent to define how many additional out-of-district students we could approve in the coming year. Determining capacity limits will continue to support what has been communicated as a highly-regarded characteristic we are known FOR, as well as provide guidance for the acceptance of additional out-of-district applicants for the upcoming school year and prepare us for the upcoming expectation with HB2567 and setting cap sizes as the bill requires.

Late starts and inservice days focus on curriculum alignment, professional development with the K-6 math series pilot, Math Expressions, the Fastbridge assessment adoption which replaced the NWEA MAP assessment (norm-referenced assessment) at the junior senior high school and the final year of our 5-year Kansas school accreditation process.

Facility improvements have been numerous at each attendance center and include: Ellsworth Elementary: Improvements to entryways and new mulch and sand for the playground.

Kanopolis Middle School: New paint, removal of several trees and stumps and coming this spring/summer, new HVAC systems and new windows for the gym.

Ellsworth Jr./Sr. High School: Concrete work and grass addition to the football concourse, renovations to the restrooms in the Martin Wing, new restroom stalls in the Silverwood Wing and in the coming year, for our beloved gymnasium, new windows and a new gym floor Small communities have BIG pride, and I am so glad to be a part of this one. We have had a great start, are accomplishing great things and doing it together.

Let’s Grow!

Deena Hilbig is the superintendent of USD 327. She can be reached at (785) 472-5561.