Commissioner Randy Watson gave the State Board of Education an annual report on Oct. 14 summarizing statewide K-12 performance, workforce and program initiatives for the 2024-25 school year.

Watson emphasized literacy and leadership development as two major board priorities. He summarized a KSDE professional-development program that provided structured-literacy training to educators in accredited schools, paid for with federal ESSER funds. Watson said about 7,200 educators had completed the formal course and another 17,000 staff had enrolled or completed parts of the multi-year training, numbers the department said will increase literacy-aligned instruction statewide.

The commissioner highlighted Kansas''s registered teacher apprenticeship initiative and other "grow-your-own" strategies to address staffing shortages, particularly in rural areas. He presented a map of districts participating in apprenticeships and said many districts had expanded programs allowing local candidates to train, stay in their communities and move into licensed positions without large student debt burdens.

On outcomes, Watson said Kansas reached historically high five-year performance measures: overall high-school graduation rates rose during the last nine years and in 2024 saw record high marks in multiple subgroups, including students with disabilities and students eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Watson said Kansas saw increases in dual-credit participation and Advanced Placement engagement, noting a record number of dual-credit credits earned statewide (366,000 credits the previous year) and a recovery in AP participation after COVID-era declines.

The report also covered demographic changes and challenges. Watson said the share of students identified as special education increased sharply over the past decade (from about 12.6% in 2012 to 17.1% most recently), with autism diagnosis accounting for part of that growth. He said chronic absenteeism spiked during the pandemic and has not fully recovered; KSDE officials singled out chronic absence as a local challenge linked to learning loss.

Watson noted workforce development messages tied to postsecondary success and earnings and encouraged board members to engage districts that are being recognized for strong results. He closed by outlining how the KSDE will realign public reporting to match changes in board goals and regulatory priorities and said the next annual report will reflect those new metrics.

The board thanked KSDE staff for the report and discussed next steps for implementing board goals around school improvement, leadership development and standards alignment; no formal board action was taken on the report.