Olathe board hears sweeping middle‑school electives overhaul; cheer and dance proposal draws concern
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Summary
District leaders proposed restructuring middle‑school electives to modernize offerings, consolidate low‑enrollment classes and free staff time; the plan would shift cheer and dance to outside the school day, a change parents and coaches say would reduce access for some students.
Olathe Public Schools presented a package of changes to middle‑school elective courses on Tuesday night designed to modernize offerings, improve staffing efficiency and better align middle‑school pathways with high‑school career and technical education programs.
District administrators said the proposal emerged from an 18‑month review involving teachers, principals, parents and students and is meant to respond to changing student needs and persistent budget and licensure constraints. Doctor Waters, who introduced the review, said the district sought “modern, connected, sustainable” options and emphasized the work must fit within existing staffing and licensure limits.
Kelly Tynes, director of curriculum and instructional support, described specific course changes: consolidating some low‑enrollment semester classes (for example, retiring intro to apparel production), creating a new middle‑school course called Teen Living that would cover life skills and financial responsibility, expanding computer instruction under a Computer Essentials title with increased keyboarding emphasis, and renaming communications courses to Media Lab and Media Makers to teach responsible social‑media use, podcasting and webcasting.
Tynes also proposed changing physical‑education requirements by reducing required sixth‑grade PE from two semesters to one. That would free a semester in the schedule for elective PE courses (team sports or lifetime activities) and create more flexibility in master scheduling, she said. She added that the district would transition cheer and dance from a year‑long in‑day PE credit to before/after‑school activities, and that a spring logistics committee of principals and coaches would work through details such as transportation and gym space.
The staffing implications were a central part of the pitch. Justin Howe, executive director of human resources, showed district data indicating many currently offered semester classes average single‑digit enrollment in some sites and argued the proposed changes would allow courses to be staffed with existing licensed middle‑school teachers without adding full‑time positions. “These proposed courses can be all staffed with existing middle‑school FTE and licensure,” Howe said.
The proposal prompted substantial board and public questions about representation in the planning process and equity of access. Board members asked who served on the committees and whether cheer and dance coaches were included. Board members and presenters said the initial “anchor” committee included teachers, administrators, parents and students but acknowledged some cheer and dance coaches told staff they wished they had been consulted earlier. “We absolutely are not cutting dance and cheer,” Doctor Waters stated, adding the district intends to preserve opportunities and help schools make before/after arrangements where needed.
Parents, students and coaches spoke during public comment that moving cheer and dance out of the school day would reduce access for low‑income families and students without transportation, and would undermine the year‑long instruction that many middle‑school programs currently provide. “When programs move outside the school day, those barriers don't disappear, they multiply,” said Marley Tranham, a former middle‑school dancer now in high school.
District leaders said the next steps include drafting course descriptions for the middle‑school program planning guide, convening teacher committees this winter and spring to develop content guides, posting standards for board approval by May, and completing teacher training and content guides by August so changes could roll out in the 2026 school year if approved.
The board did not vote on the proposal Tuesday; members said they appreciated the work to date and urged continued outreach to impacted coaches and families before any final adoption. The board will receive additional information and have opportunities for further public input in January and in meetings that follow.