HUTCHINSON, Kan.— Two USD 308 schools, Wiley Elementary and Magnet School at Allen, have been featured as schools to watch for best practices in providing supports for students in Kansas. USD 308 is the only district in Kansas to have two schools featured in the statewide report.
In 2021, the U.S. Department of Education launched the Safer Schools and Campuses Best Practices Clearing House. As a response to the executive order, the Clearinghouse began looking for stories on how schools were able to innovate and persevere through the pandemic.
“Our top priority in the coming months must be to work together to continue to safely reopen all schools for in-person learning, beginning with children in grades K-8. The data, and daily experience, show our children need us to find a way to take this step,” said Miguel A. Cardona, Ed.D., Secretary of Education, in reference to the purpose of the Clearinghouse.
Tammy Mitchell, Elementary Redesign Specialist with the Kansas State Department of Education, invited Wiley Elementary and Magnet School at Allen to consider sharing stories on how they were able to personalize learning, provide student choice and engage students in project-based learning during the 2020-21 school year.
The KSDE report on these best practices throughout Kansas features Wiley and Allen in two areas: Choice Boards and Rethinking.
“Given the challenges of a global pandemic, Allen Elementary School had to rethink a lot of its methods, not just procedural, but also academic and social-emotional. Part of the identity at the STEM Magnet school is explicit teaching of design process thinking; the design loop students use start with a ‘challenge.’ This year, the school was intentional in students using this model, embedding this process in everything it does,”
The report also states, “Wiley Elementary School utilized choice boards during small-group instruction time. As the school transitioned to remote and hybrid learning this year, it was able to digitize personalized choice boards for a smooth transition to online learning.”
“We were honored to be able to share the work of our amazing staff, students and families. We also owe a huge thank you to our Hutchinson community who gave us tremendous support over the last 9 months!” said Wiley Principal, Lynette McLean.
“It is an honor to be the only district in Kansas to have two schools be featured in the KSDE and Clearinghouse report. I am extremely proud of both Wiley and Allen and all their efforts,” said Rhonda Trimble, executive director of elementary education and school improvement for USD 308.
“USD 308 is proud of the innovative and enthusiastic work of our educators throughout the last year, and thank all of our teachers and staff for their dedication to our students,” said Mike Folks, district superintendent.
More information on the Clearinghouse can be found here: https://bestpracticesclearinghouse.ed.gov/about.html
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