Tuesday Talk with Dr. Dain

Piper Nation,

Happy Tuesday to you! We are close to the end of wrapping up February and early spring is on the horizon!

Thank you to the 14 community members who joined us for the first session of our district Budget Series. We appreciate your time, engagement, and willingness to learn more about how our schools are funded. At the close of the session, we invited participants to complete a feedback survey, and we received three official responses. We are grateful for that input.

Participants shared that the most helpful parts of the evening were the explanation of local funding and having the information presented in a way that was clear and easy to understand.

All respondents rated the session an overall 5 out of 5, with strong marks for clarity (5, 5, 4), increased understanding of district funding (all 5s), and the amount of detail shared being “about right.” All three indicated they would attend a future session.

Suggestions for upcoming topics included a deeper look at athletics funding as well as special education funding, how those dollars are spent, and ways we can continue to increase inclusion in activities for students receiving special education services.

The presentation from the evening is linked below and a recording of the session can be found here: https://youtu.be/FQZnmqC-MHQ for anyone who was unable to attend.

Our next session, titled “Understanding How Funds are Spent,” will take place on Tuesday, March 10th at PMS from 6:00–7:00 PM. We look forward to continuing this important conversation with our community.

Proud to be a Pirate,

Dr. Jessica Dain, Superintendent

Piper USD 203

We are grateful, here in the Kansas City area, to be part of the Real World Learning Conference supported by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The week began with Dr. Jessica Dain challenging districts to move beyond vision and into activation, pushing systems already in motion and naming the structural shifts required to truly build and sustain real-world learning at scale.

Another powerful moment was hearing from Lucy Traffis, a junior at Piper, as she engaged in thoughtful conversation with adults about her lived experience in real-world learning. As a student advocate, Lucy works intentionally to expand access to opportunities, mentors fellow ambassadors, builds public speaking and problem-solving skills in her peers, and offers honest feedback to strengthen programming. She speaks at events about how these experiences have shaped both her education and her plans after high school, and she collaborates with business leaders, educators, and community partners to ensure student voice meaningfully informs program design.

Our Piper team has also leaned into deep collaboration during the conference alongside middle school social studies leaders Jeremy Shields and Chloe Jackson. Together, we are wrestling with important questions: How do we embed real-world learning authentically within core knowledge? How do we measure growth in Portrait of a Graduate competencies in ways that are meaningful and sustainable?

This collective work, strengthened by teacher leaders and empowered student voices, ensures that our next steps are thoughtful, aligned, and centered on opportunity for every learner.

This week's Purple Reign Award winner is Kevin Coker, Strength & Conditioning Coach at Piper High School.

A parent wrote, "Mr. Coker goes above and beyond for his students and athletes. He comes in really early during season and stays late so he can have the weight room open for many sports. Coach Coker has a wife and 3 young children, and he still dedicates a lot of his free time to the school. He is a great role model for all students, and I am honored to have worked with him for the past 8 years between my 2 children."

Big news! Piper now has BBQ teams at BOTH the Middle School and High School!

We’re firing things up and raising funds to help our teams get started. Support our pitmasters by ordering delicious pulled pork for $23 per pound—that’s enough to feed 3–4 people!

Since we’re just getting off the ground, every order truly makes a difference and is greatly appreciated.

• Orders accepted through February 13 (Another order opportunity to come in March)
  
• Pick-up begins February 23 at the Middle School
  
• Click the link to place your order! BBQ Order Form
  

We thank you for all your support!!!

On behalf of the Piper USD 203 Board of Education, I would like to share an update regarding the search for our next Superintendent.

The Board has selected the Kansas Association of School Boards (KASB) to lead a closed and confidential Superintendent search process. This decision followed a thorough Request for Proposals process, during which a Board-appointed committee reviewed four highly qualified firms and advanced two finalists for interviews. After careful consideration, the committee recommended KASB, and the Board approved that selection.

The Board intentionally chose a closed, confidential search process because it often results in a larger and stronger pool of candidates. Many highly qualified leaders are currently serving in superintendent or senior leadership roles and are only able to explore new opportunities if their interest can remain confidential. This approach allows Piper USD 203 to attract exceptional candidates who may not apply in a fully open search, ultimately strengthening the quality of finalists considered.

While the search will be confidential, community input is a critical and valued part of this process. Over the coming weeks, KASB will engage a wide range of stakeholders, including staff, students, families, and community members through two days of in-person focus groups. These sessions will provide meaningful opportunities to share feedback on the strengths of our district, our priorities moving forward, and the leadership characteristics most important for our next Superintendent.

If you are interested in participating in the community focus group, please provide your information in this form. While space for participation is limited, we will be working to include a balanced cross-section of stakeholders. An additional opportunity for input will be available in the form of a community-wide survey in the coming weeks so that all voices in our community have a chance to be heard throughout the search process.

While specific candidate information will remain confidential, the Board of Education remains committed to transparency and to keeping our community informed throughout the process. We will continue to provide updates in the weeks ahead to ensure confidence and trust as we move forward.

Thank you for your continued support and engagement as we work together to select the next Superintendent of Piper USD 203.

Sincerely,
Ashley Biondi
President, Piper USD 203 Board of Education

Piper Early Childhood Center is hosting a kick-off event on May 8 to welcome and screen new incoming students for the 2026-2027 school year. Students who are currently attending PECC will not have school this day (and do not need to attend the event).

While we are extremely happy for Mr. Leffert’s professional success, the district is very sorry to lose him as he leaves large shoes to fill. Please find below the proposed timeline we will use to fill the Piper Middle School Principal vacancy. Additional details will be shared as the process moves forward.

January 16 - February 6: Open to receive applications

February 11 - February 13: Interview Round 1

February 18 - February 20: Interview Round 2

March 9: Hiring Recommendation to Board of Education

With the arrival of winter weather in our area, we want to remind you of our Inclement Weather Procedures. Please refer to the graphic below for Piper's three-tiered approach when canceling school.

Piper High School is proud to announce the creation of a Military Hall of Honor, a tribute to our alumni who have answered the call to serve our country. We are transferring the military service pictures currently housed at Piper Middle School (the old high school) to their new home at Piper High School. However, we are missing photos for the Classes of 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025, and we need your help to complete this important display.

If you are a recent graduate serving in the military—or know someone who is—we ask that you provide an 8x10 photo in uniform, landscape (horizontal) format. Photos may be dropped off at the Piper High School office and left with Dr. Justin Bogart, Principal.

There is no cost for alumni or families to participate. This is our way of honoring your service and sacrifice. From all of us at Piper Schools, thank you for serving our country and for representing what it means to be part of the Piper community. We are proud to include you in this lasting tribute.

Text messages will now accompany emails and phone calls to share important updates, including weather-related notices and cancelations. To setup text alerts, please follow the link below for instructions on updating your contact information in Parent Skyward to ensure you're connected.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact your building secretary.

The March Board of Education Meeting will take place on Monday, March 9, at 6 p.m., in the Board Room. Community stakeholders who wish to address the Board of Education should complete the following form (linked below) and send the completed form to the Board Clerk, Kim Buckner, at kim.buckner@piperschools.us no later than 12 p.m. (noon) the day of the meeting.

Access Board Docs (Agendas and Corresponding Reports)

Reminder that patrons can access agendas and corresponding reports via the website prior to or after each Board of Education meeting. For access, click here, where you will find agendas and reports from previous Board meetings.

Click the image for the February Board Meeting Recap. https://app.smore.com/n/f7kr3