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Students to travel to Guatemala with BuildOn; foundation funds supplies and residential support
Summary
Kansas City Kansas School Foundation For Excellence and district staff presented a BuildOn international service trip to Guatemala for Kansas City students, outlining dates, itinerary and foundation-provided supplies; board members were told the foundation funded this first-ever international trip for KCKPS students.
Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools students will travel to Guatemala in early June as part of a BuildOn international service and school-building project, district and foundation representatives said at the May 27 board meeting.
"We're looking at highs of 50 and highs of eighties... Over half of their population lives in poverty, and about 16.97 percent of people 15 and over are illiterate," student presenter Nevaeh Williams told the board while describing conditions in the Guatemalan community the group will serve. "We're going to build a school because schools there are very not well maintained... they have dirt floors."
Crystal Watson, executive director of the Kansas City Kansas School Foundation For Excellence, said the foundation is providing backpacks and supplies for participating students and that partnership sponsors included JE Dunn and Kaufman. The foundation also provided funding to support the logistics of the trip; district staff described this as the first time the foundation has funded an international student project.
District staff said the travel dates run from June 3 to June 11, with on-site work in the target community scheduled June 5–8 after a two-day transit to reach the site. Students will travel via Atlanta and stay with host families; the itinerary included four-hour workdays on the build site, cultural workshops, group reflection and a trip to a completed project site.
Teachers and administrators said the trip is framed as real-world learning and career-connected experience: the students will practice engineering and construction skills and receive community-connection experiences. Crystal Watson said the foundation provided backpacks with work gloves, ponchos, durable water bottles, solar-powered chargers and other travel supplies. District staff said participating students and chaperones will provide a post-trip report and pictures to the board when they return.
Board members applauded the students and noted the project will be part of a pilot that the district hopes to expand; staff said they are already seeking funding to enlarge next year’s cohort. No board vote was required for the presentation; staff said they will return with a report following the trip.
