Shawnee Mission updates strategic-plan action teams; board hears proposals on interpersonal skills, retention and classified data

The Shawnee Mission School District board on Feb. 11 received progress updates from several action teams implementing the district's multi-year strategic plan, including proposals to embed interpersonal skills into curriculum maps, to refine evaluation and retention supports for certified staff, and to create a superintendent's classified advisory council with targeted data collection to inform recruitment and retention.

The board heard a presentation on action item 1.2 0.1 about defining and guaranteeing interpersonal skills instruction across grade levels. Dr. Matt Anderson, assistant director of curriculum and instruction, said the action team—composed of teachers, administrators, parents, business partners and students—worked to define interpersonal skills as “the practices used to communicate, interact, and work effectively with others,” and distilled a longer list into broader categories such as communication, problem solving, perseverance, collaboration, empathy, initiative, critical thinking, conflict management, personal responsibility and curiosity.

The team recommended using existing curriculum resources and standards to teach and assess those skills so teachers would not have “more added to their plate,” Anderson said. Kate Herrenbrook, an elementary teacher at Trailwood Elementary, told the board the group reviewed approaches used by surrounding districts, including relying on PLCs or explicitly embedding Kansas social-emotional and character development standards into unit maps. The presenters said the…