Education
A bomb threat at my son’s Lawrence school shattered an afternoon into emotional fragments
On 11:22 Thursday morning, I received a call from the Lawrence Unified School District. Hearing about a bomb threat at your child’s middle school has a way of fixing a precise time in your mind. The message, recorded by district communications director Julie Boyle, was admirably direct and concise. The school had learned of a […]
Emporia State University graduate encourages student leaders, laments school’s ‘debacle’
EMPORIA — House Minority Leader Vic Miller regaled members of the Emporia State University student government Thursday with tales of his early 1970s escapades on campus — while lamenting the school’s elimination of tenured staff and programs last year. He pointed to himself and his Republican counterpart, House Speaker Dan Hawkins, as examples of accomplished […]
It’s 10 p.m. Do you know where your work laptop is?
Last night, I imagined myself as a boiled frog. Laptop in my lap at 8:30 p.m., I highlighted text from one page, copied it and pasted it onto another page. Over and over. Cut. Copy. Paste. Onto the next page. Highlight. Copy. Paste. Onto the next page. Next to me, my daughter and wife were […]
‘Holy tax scams’: Kansas lawmakers fight over plan to fund private schools with tax write-offs
TOPEKA — Lawmakers and education officials sparred for more than two hours Wednesday over a proposal to expand a private school tax credit originally billed as a way to serve low-income Kansas students. Education officials and Democrats criticized House Bill 2048 during a tense, jampacked House K-12 Education Budget Committee hearing. Critics said the legislation would […]
Kansas educators share personal insights in quest to reverse statewide teacher shortage
Kansas educators tackle K-12 teacher shortage by touting life-changing occupation, but size of the shortfall will require cash infusion for salary hikes.
A watchdog says the feds aren’t doing enough to investigate problem colleges
WASHINGTON — Incomplete written guidelines and penalties that had not been updated since 2016. Significant turnover and reductions among staff. Changing agency priorities and department probes put “on hold.” Over the past six years, these problems have stifled the U.S. Department of Education’s investigations team that is supposed to probe colleges that misrepresent themselves to […]
New college semester brings new questions about how to fill empty seats
Visit a faculty break room on a college campus these days. Or gather a group of university professors together for a Friday afternoon cocktail. Or call one on the phone to ask how classes are going. Attendance arises first in almost any such conversation. Three semesters past the time when most universities proclaimed that classes […]
Kansas lawmakers debate sales tax holiday for back-to-school shopping
TOPEKA — Three bills that would help Kansas parents trying to save money on school supplies were received favorably by legislators on Thursday. During a Senate Committee on Assessment and Taxation meeting, Sen. Caryn Tyson, R-Parker, committee chair, said she was optimistic about passing some form of legislation to help out Kansans buying for school […]
Advocates gather to support former University of Kansas professor following his sentencing
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Supporters of former University of Kansas professor Franklin Tao gathered in the cold wind and rain Wednesday outside the Robert J. Dole Federal Courthouse. The group assembled to show support for Tao, who was the first person arrested under former President Donald Trump’s discontinued “China Initiative” in 2019, and to voice […]
Three Kansas Board of Education newcomers make presence felt at inaugural meeting
Three new members of Kansas Board of Education make presence felt at their first meeting on COVID-19 funding, nutrition programs and hiring an attorney.
Kansas’ four-year universities, colleges request greater state support of need-based scholarships
Kansas' four-year higher education institutions seek state investment in scholarships, while two-year colleges request funding to expand academic programs.
Former Washburn administrator selected president of Topeka university
A former Washburn University administrator was convinced to leave Midwestern State University in Texas after less than one year to become WU's president.