HUTCHINSON, KS. — Dr. Randy Watson, the incoming Kansas commissioner of education was in Hutchinson Wednesday for a public meeting to gain public input to help define the state’s strategic plan for education. The meeting at the Essdack facility included a combination of area school board members, district administrators and parents.
Topic areas included defining success for children, characteristics, qualities, abilities and skills of a successful 24-year-old, the role K-12 education plays in that success and the role of higher education. During the session Wednesday, they divided those in attendance into several groups to come up with ideas and thoughts over those three topics then held an open discussion of problems and potential solutions.
They quoted statistics from the Georgetown Public Policy Institute, a nonpartisan group which suggest that 79 percent of jobs by 2020 will require some type of education beyond high school. Those who get the post-secondary education will get better paying jobs. That also means based on those figures show that those individuals who only receive education through high school will have a 29 percent chance of success.
During the discussion Dr. Watson also talked about parent-teacher conferences and how after grade school, the attendance of parents seems to diminish. He says they want to change that and get parents more involved with their child’s education even after grade school. He says they often become concerned when their kids are struggling in school. He told the crowd that as the superintendent in the McPherson school district, he would tell them that it’s okay if there kids are struggling. He they want kids to understand that there will be struggles in life and want to help them work through difficulties during those school years, so they will be better prepared to handle those issues as they get on in life.
The tour continues with more stops next week in western Kansas.