Has the Kansas City Royals' academy for local talent lost its way?

By Luke X. Martin,

Published June 22, 2023 at 4:00 AM CDT

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The Urban Youth Academy helped plant the Kansas City Royals' flag in the Historic 18th and Vine district, but many residents of nearby neighborhoods have only mustered lukewarm acceptance. Will the lack of enthusiasm affect the push for a new downtown ballpark? Plus: Kansas lawmakers want a quicker switch to teaching reading in a way that actually works.

The Kansas City Royals are drumming up support for a new downtown ballpark. But trust among many urban residents is shaky because of another baseball facility close to downtown: the Urban Youth Academy. Greg Echlin reports for KCUR that many in nearby neighborhoods believe the academy has strayed from its original goals.

For generations, Kansas schools have taught reading in ways that don’t work for many kids. That’s starting to change, and Suzanne Perez of the Kansas News Service reports that some lawmakers want to ban old methods and fast-track the new science of reading in Kansas classrooms.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Luke X. Martin. It is produced by Paris Norvell, Byron Love, and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg and Lisa Rodriguez.

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