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Seg. 1: When A Charter School Loses Its Sponsor. Seg. 2: Lincoln Prep Poetry Team Among The Best.

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The University of Central Missouri, which sponsors the Benjamin Banneker Charter Academy of Technology, pictured here, announced in October 2017 that it would sever ties with the school. Its contract expired June 30, 2018.

Segment 1: A shuttered charter school in Kansas City leaves some families in the lurch.

The closing of Kansas City's Benjamin Banneker Charter Academy wasn't a complete surprise, but it was announced just weeks before the beginning of a new school year. The course of events got community members wondering about a charter school's responsibility to the families it serves, and its accountability when things go wrong. Today, we asked charter school boosters about that, and about what happens when a charter school loses its sponsor.

Segment 2, beginning at 19:50: Spoken-word poets from Lincoln College Prep excel in international showcase.

What spectators see at competitions like Louder Than a Bomb Kansas City and at Brave New World, the largest youth spoken-word festival in the world, is just the final product of hours of writing, editing and practicing on the part of young poets. We talked about art and inspiration with a local competitor who has taken part in both those events, and explored how poetry can help high schoolers understand and cope with trauma.

  • Abby Espino Salazar, Lincoln College Preparatory Academy sophomore and poet
  • Joyce Nguyen Hernandez, Lincoln College Preparatory Academy poetry team coach
  • Kristian Foster, Lincoln College Preparatory Academy principal
When I host Up To Date each morning at 9, my aim is to engage the community in conversations about the Kansas City area’s challenges, hopes and opportunities. I try to ask the questions that listeners want answered about the day’s most pressing issues and provide a place for residents to engage directly with newsmakers. Reach me at steve@kcur.org or on Twitter @stevekraske.
As culture editor, I oversee KCUR’s coverage of race, culture, the arts, food and sports. I work with reporters to make sure our stories reflect the fullest view of the place we call home, so listeners and readers feel primed to explore the places, projects and people who make up a vibrant Kansas City. Email me at luke@kcur.org.