[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6344584,"mediaKeyId","2250418-464158af6f905330f9bb99428bec3cfc","parentId",2250418,"title","District recognizes February senior of the month, Living the Dream food-drive winners and school counselors","audioSeconds",595,"startMs",2021000,"endMs",2616000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2250418-464158af6f905330f9bb99428bec3cfc&start=2021&end=2616","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2250418-464158af6f905330f9bb99428bec3cfc/thumbnail_2021000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6344584/Kansas/District-recognizes-February-senior-of-the-month-Living-the-Dream-food-drive-winners-and-school-counselors","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6344584-0b68f09fa82792b848f24be153bc947a/orig.mp4?Expires=1777164051&Signature=lidB8OM4NPCWmkPHQxa4HcydhPp55Q0kzg7ABB8bRqXXVROqpT4jHt7vJ6OKEFm9P7N8VFG4g19j1PCIwzODq4Jva4bSk1V8rcoV9xaed7jQBqfsXCXv5jVQ-cHN3732TgkGekwIzgilQ7jLZYMsT7kKu3YU2Y5RVcwnkF8wg4Q2znLgLz-jAFBlnSXt3hdL~WrnROy4rpp~K-zCV3~WgN0S~vKfv72wxiIjv1BvgXfoRa4Cv9eeLhU85a04ChlLxADYA9tjmLvYDLRhd15BBcQomEc9geQXIw2Cbe1YtwcjZiRchHnAhnBdQqfvOk6Ge--zAg9be62cS~G8Tsnrbg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Topeka Public Schools","date","2025-02-07T14:03:16Z","article","The Topeka Public Schools Board of Education recognized students and staff at the start of its meeting, naming Damien Thompson, a Cap City senior, as the district’s February senior of the month and presenting him with a plaque and remarks from teachers and board members.

Damien Thompson told the board he plans to pursue career-oriented training after high school and described his interests in culinary arts and hands-on courses such as woodshop. Cap City staff praised Thompson’s leadership and technical skills. Video and in-person remarks accompanied the recognition.

The board also recognized Living the Dream’s eighth-year food-drive partnership with the district and presented a traveling plaque to Winston Elementary for collecting the most items three years in a row. Winston teachers and students described classroom- and community-driven fundraising tactics; one fourth-grade class reported collecting more than 700 cans. The student council used monetary donations to purchase additional items, and students received celebratory incentives such as pizza parties.

Finally, the board acknowledged school counselors for Counselor Appreciation Week, with district staff highlighting the counselors’ role in social-emotional support, college and career readiness efforts such as Apply Kansas (Kansas Board of Regents), and day-to-day student advocacy. Dr. Grimes introduced counselors representing elementary, middle and high school levels: Mallory Jacobs, Jean Ryan and Brooke Mulford.

Board members and staff urged continued community support for food insecurity efforts and praised the counselors’ role in student development and mental-health supports. The district scheduled group photos and a short break to follow the recognitions.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","TPS Board of Education Meeting 02-06-2025","oneSentenceSummary","The board honored Cap City senior Damien Thompson as February senior of the month, presented a traveling plaque to Winston Elementary for the Living the Dream food drive, and recognized school counselors districtwide during Counselor Appreciation Week.","taxTitle","Topeka Public Schools, School Boards, Kansas","taxId",14492,"location","Kansas","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6344588,"Board discusses strategic-plan goals: 5% target to move students from Level 1, CTE expansion and work-session schedule",320,4379000,4699000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2250418-464158af6f905330f9bb99428bec3cfc&start=4379&end=4699","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2250418-464158af6f905330f9bb99428bec3cfc/thumbnail_4379000.jpg","/articles/6344588/Kansas/Board-discusses-strategic-plan-goals-5-target-to-move-students-from-Level-1-CTE-expansion-and-work-session-schedule","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6344588-85433ad395ed7fccd5ec4b262176adfe/orig.mp4?Expires=1777164051&Signature=VK797CP9Dizqi6CYtYaqn5QoZvK2EoejZ9Pi2g1DOOMb9VegVGgKjMBDPyR7Rw6sBlgQP3nl4zvQOzQf-0m8Wtdon5OWsRhKObNOpGSM28~NOvfkdPSYNpn6d5qJ3HQ3nP8VrNSk01NaIE~8NY8RVVzHuUrlaAsn9emjzDlsZZ6nnGxRaiiYwCEMrhqeTfNFRPtrfFY6HxNOXSPQb7CF7GRZPzbAb3wmq8EtueskCc2imGmITmJSse9uMR7mqkE0j5KLuXXC2Gj2S2mK3zNCbUHN7jALdPSYhsRRqf9BI80J40jr80jLrTWZBJkjE6vKvfcmWbKMOQeOUGAltTmNSA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Topeka Public Schools trustees spent a substantial portion of their meeting reviewing draft goals aligned to the district strategic plan and asked staff to return with measurable baselines and implementation detail.

Superintendent Dr. Anderson presented draft, measurable targets the board had discussed previously and asked whether the proposed metrics captured the board’s intent. For academic achievement the draft target was to move 5% of students out of Level 1 on state-related assessments, a change board members debated as both meaningful and attainable given high student mobility at several East Topeka schools.

“Now in this goal, we reference level 1 because that’s really what you all talked about at this time,” Dr. Anderson said while reviewing the proposed wording.

Board members asked for clarity on how the 5% was derived and whether it would be statistically meaningful. Dr. Kemp (assessment staff) explained that a 5% district-level change can represent a substantial number of students and that small percentage shifts in district indicators can be significant when multiplied across the student population.

Trustees also discussed secondary goals tied to career and technical education (CTE): adding one new CTE pathway next year and increasing CTE enrollment by 10% across the district. Staff said they would present pathway details and enrollment baselines to allow the board to track progress.

On student well-being, the board supported a proposal to implement an assessment tool (the Student Risk Screening Scale was referenced) to measure the impact of mental-health mentors and other mental-health services, and set a draft goal of decreasing internalizing and externalizing risk indicators by 5%.

Recruitment and retention of staff — especially bilingual personnel — was another board priority. The draft target presented was a 5% increase in bilingual staff and the adoption of five actionable steps from personnel surveys to improve recruitment and retention. Trustees also asked that the compensation study underway produce three actionable items to consider.

Several specific work-session topics were scheduled or proposed for deeper discussion: a policy-focused session on cell phones (proposed for April), bilingual/dual-language program review (including a Gomez & Gomez consultation scheduled for Feb. 28), safety and parking-lot security cameras, absenteeism, technology (including Windows 11 rollout and cybersecurity), early childhood/preschool funding, and accreditation steps. Board members asked staff to bring data baselines, midyear checkpoints and implementation plans to future sessions so the board can track progress year-to-year.

Several board members stressed the need to ground decisions in data; staff said screening tools, survey instruments and district assessments are already in use and that summary reports and baselines would be provided to the board in follow-up.","Trustees reviewed draft board goals tied to the district strategic plan, including a target to move 5% of students out of lowest assessment level, adding a CTE pathway, measuring mental-health supports, and scheduling policy and work sessions (cell phones, bilingual program, safety, absenteeism, technology).",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6344591,"Topeka Board approves consent items, holds short executive session; all motions pass unanimously",66,61000,127000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2250418-464158af6f905330f9bb99428bec3cfc&start=61&end=127","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2250418-464158af6f905330f9bb99428bec3cfc/thumbnail_61000.jpg","/articles/6344591/Kansas/Topeka-Board-approves-consent-items-holds-short-executive-session-all-motions-pass-unanimously","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6344591-b7d2260a8974438127764bf25372180b/orig.mp4?Expires=1777164051&Signature=e-AzoI4UTCD5IVShZQjCYtzW99-r8wxeDfr6-q0ZQdhQ~mBEJjBU6F0aI8zkF1v5YUqk2oiPah2QY92-ExbAin2e7Byy85byPzkoOUelyOek2EBS7BWhiz-gzrHGkNamh1pqWo4SgCm0ZjrQG2k7RoXlAEGBt-piMCgX6ALgb32crInx2UnnVzJnE584HPoY5aN--18kWPfflP6BAF5BUmb9cCCK7zo4K6Qge-7qvijV0u30VPCAe7~Ttp~qHbyQCAxXfjlu-GIa3ikOKGwD1tNQmPSAdlnsnoa~ZwbzjfopNpHhWPjEkkBktdHA9S41w3sKhVv9SV7Eo82EfQuC2Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Topeka Public Schools Board of Education recessed into a 30-minute executive session to discuss confidential personnel matters and later approved the meeting agenda and business-by-consent items, including several personnel appointments, all by unanimous vote.

The board voted to recess into executive session “pursuant to the personnel exception of the Kansas Open Meetings Act” for 30 minutes, specifying that the superintendent, executive staff and Angel Simmons were invited to attend and that the board would return to open session at 6:01 p.m. A second was recorded and the motion carried unanimously.

After returning to open session, the board adopted the evening’s agenda as presented and then approved the business-by-consent package, which included authorization for the board president or superintendent to sign special projects and purchasing contracts on behalf of the district. The consent vote also approved several personnel items noted in the superintendent’s report, including the permanent appointment of the Landon principal and the appointment of Eric Rodriguez as assistant principal at Landon; the board was informed that another internal promotion, Mr. Wilde, was approved as Cap City principal for next year.

Votes at a glance
- Motion to recess into executive session for 30 minutes under the personnel exception of the Kansas Open Meetings Act; mover: (recorded in transcript as speaker a:6); second: Miss Boley; outcome: approved unanimously. Notes: superintendent, executive staff, Angel Simmons invited; return to open session at 6:01 p.m.
- Motion to adopt the agenda as presented; mover: (recorded as speaker a:6); second: Miss Foley; outcome: approved unanimously.
- Motion to approve business-by-consent items and authorize signature of contracts; mover: (recorded as speaker a:6); second: Mr. Tatum; outcome: approved unanimously. Notes: personnel approvals included (see actions list).
- Motion to adjourn; mover: (recorded as speaker a:6); second: Miss Foley; outcome: approved unanimously.

The board did not take public votes on policy changes during the meeting; policy work and additional topics were scheduled for future work sessions.","At a Topeka Public Schools board meeting, trustees recessed briefly into an executive session under the Kansas Open Meetings Act and approved agenda and consent items (including personnel appointments) by unanimous roll call.","actionData","errors"]

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District recognizes February senior of the month, Living the Dream food-drive winners and school counselors

Board discusses strategic-plan goals: 5% target to move students from Level 1, CTE expansion and work-session schedule

Topeka Board approves consent items, holds short executive session; all motions pass unanimously