{"id":63913,"date":"2022-03-08T09:18:56","date_gmt":"2022-03-08T15:18:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=63913"},"modified":"2022-03-08T10:20:34","modified_gmt":"2022-03-08T16:20:34","slug":"boe-hears-about-early-childhood-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=63913","title":{"rendered":"BOE hears about early childhood education"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By ALICIA FEYERHERM<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hays USD 489 Board of Education met for a\nregular meeting Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After approval of the agenda, Superintendent Ron\nWilson recognized Hays High School students who were selected for KMEA\nAll-State Choir. Those students were: Anthony Arial, Jordan\nAschenbrenner, Carson Brooksher, Kiki Gonzales, Nate Henderson, Devlyn Jochum\nand Samantha\nVesper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gina Johnson, fifth-grade teacher at O\u2019Loughlin Elementary, was also recognized for being the 2021 Kansas Master Teacher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGina is considered an\noutstanding educator in our district and very much deserving of this award,\u201d\nWilson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johnson has been a\nteacher for 20 years, with 12 of those years being in Hays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Director of Early\nChildhood Services Donna Hudson-Hamilton then gave an overview of programs in\nthe area. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parents as Teachers serves approximately 75 children prenatal to age 5, is state-funded with a match from the district and has universal enrollment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early Head Start\nserves families in Ellis, Rush, Rooks and Russell counties. The program has 27\nfederal slots, 24 Kansas Early Head Start Child Care slots and 41 Kansas Early\nHead Start Home-based slots. The programs are based on age and income\neligibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For children ages 3 to\n5, four different options are available. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Head Start serves 123 3-\nand 4-year-olds in Ellis, Rush, Rooks and Russell counties. This is a federally\nfunded program with a local match and eligibility is based on age and income.\nServices are free to families. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

State pre-kindergarten\nserves 3- and 4-year-olds in the Hays school district, and eligibility is\nbased on \u201cat-risk\u201d factors such as children living in single-parent\nhouseholds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early Childhood Block\nGrant supports full-day services for 20 children through Children\u2019s Cabinet and\nTobacco Settlement Funds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

USD 489 also has a\npreschool located in the Early Childhood Connections Complex. The program is\ntuition based with morning and afternoon slots available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During Wilson\u2019s\nsuperintendent report, he reviewed current House and Senate bills related to\neducation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The House K-12\nEducation Budget Committee recommended HB 2662, establishing the parents’ bill\nof rights and academic transparency act, requiring extensive posting of\nmaterials and information on school district websites. The bill was not\nconsidered by the House but was referred to the Appropriations Committee and is\nnow exempt from deadlines, so it is still in play. The Senate has held hearings\non several related bills, but none have been recommended by committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wilson stressed the\nimportance of funding special education programs and says he hopes that in\ncoming years, more legislation will be passed regarding special-ed\nfunding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have to fund\nspecial education,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cI\u2019m not just talking for our district. I\u2019m\ntalking for the state of Kansas. It\u2019s going to become critical.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Board members Tammy\nWellbrock, Ken Brooks and Craig Pallister were appointed to the negotiation\nteam for the upcoming HNEA negotiations. Allen Park was nominated as an\nalternate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The board approved a\nbid from M&D Excavating for $34,500 for the addition of an additional\nparking area at the high school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The meeting ended with\nHays High Principal Shawn Henderson discussing the growing high school and the\nneed for more staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year, enrollment\nwas at 823 students. Now the school is up to 900 and those numbers are expected\nto increase in the next few years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The board approved the\nproposal to add additional staff members for the 2022-23 school year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A recording of the\nmeeting can be found at: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=N9v-jFYkogU<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next meeting will\nbe March 28.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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