Olathe board approves overhaul of middle-school electives; staff to provide checkpoints on rollout

The Olathe Public Schools Board of Education on Jan. 12 approved a proposal to change middle-school electives, a move district leaders said will broaden students’ options but that several teachers urged be delayed so curriculum can be developed with fidelity.

Board members voted 7–0 to approve agenda item 9.01 after a multi-hour discussion that included public testimony, presentations from district staff and questions from board members. Brad Boyd moved to approve the proposal; Julie Steele seconded the motion.

Superintendent Brent Yeager and curriculum staff described the next steps if the board approved the package. Kelly Tynes told the board the district has already reserved 11 full days for teacher teams to develop day-by-day curriculum resources and has secured substitutes and budget support for those planning days. Tynes said the goal is to complete much of the work by the end of the school year, with the possibility of continuing into summer if needed.

"We have already reserved 11 full days worth of time for teachers to come in on teacher teams and work on creating new curriculum resources," Tynes said.

Justin Howe and CTE coordinator Barbara Gonzales outlined staffing, licensure and the process for course revision. They said teacher teams for each elective will develop materials and that principals and program leads will vet placement and schedules. Gonzales said 21 teachers had already expressed interest in working on CTE-related course revisions and another 27 staff had responded about non-CTE elective work as of the presentation.

The board spent particular time on proposed changes to middle-school cheer and dance. Howe said the district has drafted updated job descriptions that would reflect extra hours and logistical expectations, proposed forming a representative committee of coaches and principals, and planned a quick timeline to present details to principals and parents before March tryouts.

Several teachers and coaches urged caution. Jessica Grauburger, a sixth-grade teacher and coach at Chisholm Trail, asked the board to delay implementation until the 2027–28 school year, saying a full-year, high-quality curriculum cannot realistically be developed in four or five months.

"We cannot afford to build a plane while we are flying it," Grauburger said during public comment, asking the board to pause and allow teachers sufficient planning time.

District leaders responded that the process for rolling out new or revised courses typically takes six to eight months and that the district is using multiple, independent teacher teams to manage the workload across roughly 15 classes now being revised. They also identified a benchmark: all standards are to be presented to the board before the end of the school year; if the standard-setting benchmark cannot be met, staff said they would pause rollout and return to the board.

Board members pressed on timelines and supports. Claire Reagan and others said they appreciated the district’s efforts but noted the schedule looked tight and asked for interim updates. Yeager committed to providing spring checkpoints — periodic updates short of a full presentation — so the board can monitor progress and be informed early if a pause is necessary.

The board’s vote concludes the board-level approval step; staff stressed several remaining processes before students experience changes in class schedules, including course-description publication for enrollment, staffing allotment decisions tied to actual student enrollment, supplemental-pay negotiations for outside-the-school-day assignments and finalization of job descriptions for extracurricular coaches.

What's next: staff said course descriptions and a printed course guide will be prepared for upcoming enrollment; teacher-team work and benchmarks will continue through spring, with potential summer work if necessary. The superintendent said the district will notify the board promptly if progress indicates a need to defer implementation.

Actions recorded: the board approved agenda item 9.01 (motion: "I move to approve agenda item 9 0 0 1 as presented"; mover: Brad Boyd; seconder: Julie Steele). The motion passed 7–0 on recorded roll call.

— Reporting from the Jan. 12 Olathe Public Schools Board meeting.