Parkway begins chartered evaluation of athletics and activities to assess safety, facilities and participation

Parkway School District staff on Wednesday introduced a chartered program evaluation of athletics and activities that will examine the department’s mission and vision, health and safety practices, facilities needs and participation barriers, with findings to be reported to the board in the spring.

Dr. Whitney Holman Bess, deputy superintendent, introduced Corey Johnson, director of athletics and activities, who described the evaluation’s scope. “Our main purpose here will really look at the opportunities that we have for our students, and then also to look proactively, and set a clear path moving forward,” Johnson said.

Johnson said the review will assess whether offerings align with district objectives, examine barriers that affect participation, consider health and safety topics such as crowd management and coach expectations, and coordinate with the district’s security department. The facilities review will consider needs at middle and high school levels and feed into the Parkway facilities 2050 planning effort.

Staff said they have already launched surveys of stakeholders, including students and parents, and will research comparable offerings in neighboring districts to determine feasibility and potential changes. The district plans to analyze collected data over the winter and present a report to the board this spring.

Board members asked about character education and spectator safety. Johnson confirmed sportsmanship, leadership and character are part of the guided questions and said facilities and spectator-safety issues will be addressed as the work aligns with the broader 2050 facilities planning process. He noted that the last review began before the COVID-19 pandemic and its findings were affected by subsequent changes in safety and participation patterns.

The presentation was a work-session item; no formal vote was taken at Wednesday’s meeting.