Release from Hutchinson USD 308
HUTCHINSON, KS– Kansas Education Commissioner Dr. Randy Watson and Deputy Commissioner Dr. Brad Neuenswander joined Hutchinson community members to discuss the future of K-12 education on Monday, August 30 on their 50-city Kansans Can Success Tour.
Almost 100 members of the Hutchinson community attended the Kansans Can Success Tour on the morning of August 30, 2021 to discuss the future of K-12 education with Kansas Education Commissioner Dr. Randy Watson and Deputy Commissioner Brad Neuenswander. The event was hosted on the Hutchinson Community College campus in the Stringer Fine Arts building.
School superintendents from around Reno County joined the event Monday morning. “It was great to have Dr. Watson and members of his staff share information about the Kansas Can Vision and provide opportunities for patrons, BOE members and staff to give input for the future,” said USD 308 superintendent, Mike Folks.
The purpose of the 2021 Success Tour is to follow up on the 2015 “Kansas’ Children. Kansas ‘Future” community conversation tour. The 2015 tour gathered feedback from over 2,000 parents, educators, school board members, and community members on what was needed in the Kansas education system to ensure the success of Kansas students.
During the Hutchinson, KS session of the 2021 Kansans Can Success Tour, Watson and Nuenswander shared the data that was gathered from the 2015 tour, and led guided table discussions on what is currently needed in education to prepare Kansas students for a successful life post-graduation. Attendees utilized an interactive feedback-gathering software to send suggestions to the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner.
Jesse Ediger, principal at Graber Elementary School, was in attendance at today’s session. “Graber is in the Apollo III Cohort group and this tour reignited our energy and enthusiasm to create a learning space for each student to succeed in today's world,” Ediger said, “We know this is what's best for our students and it's exciting to be supported by the Kansas community.”
Hutchinson Public Schools would like to thank Dr. Watson and Dr. Neuenswander for taking the time to gather feedback from educators and community members on the current needs of K-12 education. We would also like to thank Hutchinson Community College for hosting the event on their campus. We look forward to seeing the results of the tour and the continued success of Kansas students!