Shawnee Mission highlights pre-K growth, Jump Start gains and plans new early childhood center

The Shawnee Mission School District on Tuesday presented a comprehensive update on early childhood programming, reporting measures of reach and development and announcing plans for a new early childhood center.

Dr. Leanne Neal, chief of strategic initiatives, told the board that prekindergarten and Parents As Teachers (PAT) offer a pipeline of early learning services across the district and that enrollment for pre-K and kindergarten will open online on Dec. 1, 2025. "Enrollment links will be live on smsd.org on 12/01/2025," she said.

Neal said the district currently operates 34 early childhood classrooms, with 21 pre-K classrooms located in elementary schools and additional classrooms at the district—s early childhood center. The district is expanding classroom capacity: two new pre-K classrooms were added this year at Pawnee and Tomahawk, and district leaders said they are in the design phase for an intentionally built early childhood center at the former Catherine Carpenter site (96th and Connell) that is anticipated to open in 2027.

The board heard program detail from Parents As Teachers supervisor Mary Chris Blakhan, who said PAT served 465 children from 387 families in the last completed year and logged 4,213 personal visits. Blakhan described core PAT components — home visiting, developmental screenings, group connections and family well-being supports — and noted the district affiliate received a national "blue ribbon" quality designation after a multi-month review.

Presenters also described the Jump Start to Learning summer program, a three-week initiative designed to prepare incoming kindergartners. Staff said nearly 2,500 students have participated in Jump Start over the program—s history; 230 students attended Jump Start in summer 2025 and 98% remained enrolled in Shawnee Mission Schools at the beginning of their kindergarten semester. Neal said funding in 2025 came from Title I federal funds and a grant from the Hall Family Foundation through the Shawnee Mission Education Foundation.

Teachers and special-education staff outlined the continuum of services the district provides, from general pre-K classrooms to unified classrooms and SMECEC-based structured learning centers for students requiring more intensive supports. The presentation emphasized use of fall, winter and spring myIGDIs assessments to track early literacy and numeracy and described targeted instructional practices such as guided play and small-group interventions.

Board members asked whether the new early childhood center would increase the district—s capacity. Neal said the design is intended to add classrooms and broaden the continuum of services "so we will be able to add a general and unified classroom presence there as well," allowing the district to serve more students and expand peer opportunities.

The presentation closed with staff remarks about family engagement, community partnerships and measurable gains attributed to early intervention and Jump Start programming. The board expressed support and appreciation for the work and data.

The board did not take a formal vote on program expansion during the meeting; staff said further planning and design work will continue.