Kansas City Kansas Public Schools (KCKPS)

The vote clears the way for school officials to borrow money to replace three schools and add classrooms to a fourth. It was the district's second attempt to pass a bond this year.

Summer break has come to an end, and students and staff have made their way back into classrooms across the Kansas City metro. Superintendents from both sides of the state line joined KCUR's Up To Date to discuss how they're addressing mental health challenges and cellphones in schools.

On May 7, voters in Kansas City, Kansas, will decide whether to approve a ballot measure that would raise property taxes for the next 30 years. The bond would pay to consolidate elementary schools, build new buildings, increase early childhood education, and fund additional renovations.

Avenue of Life in Kansas City, Kansas, works with school liaisons to identify students in need of a variety of supports. Within 24 hours after being notified, the nonprofit meets with families to provide hotel rooms, food, clothing and other immediate needs while a team works to find long term housing for the family.

Schools are still struggling to raise attendance rates and student performance to where they were before the COVID-19 pandemic. Plus, school districts are preparing for a new law in Kansas that allows students to transfer to schools outside the district where they live.

Kansas public school leaders in some high-demand districts say they’re already hearing from families who want to switch schools to take advantage of a new open enrollment law. But the new law won’t be simple, and they’re not ready to just throw open their doors.

The holiday break can be difficult for families who rely on schools to provide meals, shelter and other resources to their kids. Schools around the Kansas City area started planning early so kids would be taken care of.

In a matter of months, the union representing maintenance, custodial and cafeteria workers at Kansas City Public Schools went from a cordial relationship with the district to filing seven class-action grievances. What's caused the tension?

A new school year brings new challenges to Kansas City-area districts. Ongoing problems, like staffing shortages and school safety, continue to weigh on administration while heat waves make learning hazardous.

Kansas City Public Schools, which does not have central air conditioning in many of its secondary schools, will release all students early for the rest of the week because of safety concerns. Other districts in the area are canceling outdoor sports, moving recess indoors or encouraging staff to wear shorts.

How did Kansas City vote in the 2023 municipal elections? Plus: Many Indigenous languages are at risk of dying out after centuries of forced assimilation. Now Kansas City Public Schools and members of the KC Indian Center are trying to change that by bringing the Cherokee language to East High School.

After COVID-19 upended their academic careers, three recent graduates from a Kansas City, Kansas alternative high school say the pandemic completely transformed their high school expectations and their futures.