Lawrence Public Schools
All Students. One Team.
Hello, Lawrence Public Schools Community,
It’s a busy and productive time across our schools as our teachers and teams continue a laser focus on learning and enrichment activities leading up to fall break at the end of next week.
A Community in Conversation - We Want to Hear from You!
I have appreciated our continuing conversations across the community, including meeting with parents this week at Southwest Middle School and with the Lawrence Interfaith Alliance and the Chamber's Governmental and External Affairs Committee, among others. I am grateful for and inspired by the students, staff, parents, and community members who have taken the time to share their school experiences and their thoughts about "next steps" for Lawrence Public Schools.
With so many fall activities vying for our time and attention, we will keep our Community Survey open until December 19 to hear more perspectives. I invite everyone's participation!
Regardless of where your children attend school, you are most welcome to join me in conversation from 6:00-7:30 p.m. Tuesday at West Middle School. If you plan to attend with little ones, you may take advantage of on-site childcare provided by our high school students in the early childhood education pathway program. Please make advance arrangements by emailing their teacher at Kelly.Welch@usd497.org by Monday.
Lawrence Public Schools Podcast
We are delighted to debut a new Lawrence Public Schools Podcast, an added communication tool for sharing information and the inspiring stories of our students, staff, and schools. I hope that you will listen to this inaugural episode, hosted by Andrew Beaven, our multimedia communications specialist. You may also find it wherever you access podcasts.
Caring, high-quality public schools are the outgrowth of engaged and supportive communities. Thank you for all you do to support the educational experiences of our more than 10,000 students and the remarkable staff who serve them each day.
Sincerely,
Jeanice Kerr Swift
Interim Superintendent of Schools
Lawrence Public Schools
Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day
The Quail Run Elementary students pictured here made posters about celebrating diversity, and then took to the sidewalks to participate in Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day Thursday.
Meanwhile, some of our high school students traveled to Washburn University to hear Ruby Bridges' firsthand account of integrating an all-white elementary school on November 14, 1960, in New Orleans. She shared her experiences as a six-year-old child facing racism and hate just by going to school. She encouraged our students to be brave when challenged by injustices.
Indigenous Culture Celebration
Supaman urged students to be resilient, to keep learning, and to make positive choices. Billy Mills Middle School sixth grader Donovan Azure-Saldana, Meskwaki, Oneida, and Turtle Mountain Ojibwe, is pictured here. He took to center court to demonstrate the Grass Dance at the assembly. Special thanks to Haskell Indian Nations University and Kickapoo Nation School for sponsoring and sharing in this exciting learning opportunity.
Nutrition and Wellness Team Honored
Congratulations to Director Julie Henry and our Nutrition and Wellness team. They earned a 2024 Culture of Health Champion Award from Live Well Douglas County for providing free meals to Douglas County children last summer.
In addition to serving lunches at its summer meal sites, the team prepared, packed, and loaded summer meal kits into families' vehicles in drive-through fashion at the Youth Sports Complex south of Lawrence. Each meal kits contained five breakfasts and five lunches that families took home to prepare for their children throughout the week.
This effort expanded access to nutritious meals for children whose families were unable to utilize the summer meal sites. The Nutrition and Wellness Team last summer served 74,288 breakfasts, 1,932 snacks, and 88,689 lunches!