Awards

USD 327 was the recipient of four Kansans Can Star recognitions from the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) for 2019. This program helps our district to identify areas of focus for meeting the KSDE vision of “leading the world in the success of each student”.

 

The first recognition was the Copper Star Award for Academically Prepared for Postsecondary Success. This award has four levels: Gold, Silver, Bronze and Copper. This award recognizes the level of scoring achieved on the Kansas state assessments for all students across all grade levels in math, language arts and science.

 

The second recognition was the Gold Star Award for Graduation Rate. This award also has four levels: Gold, Silver, Bronze and Copper. This award recognizes the District’s annual high school graduation rate.  USD327’s graduation rate last year was 97%. 

 

The third recognition was the Bronze Star Award for Postsecondary Effectiveness. This award has four levels: Gold, Silver, Bronze and Copper. This recognition is for the postsecondary effective rate of the District. This rate is the percent of ninth graders that graduate and earn one of the following: an industry recognized certification while in high school; a postsecondary certificate; a postsecondary degree; or enrolled postsecondary education in both the first and second years following high school graduation.

 

The last award received by the District was the Commissioner’s Award. This award is given to districts that not only received an award for postsecondary effectiveness but outperformed their expected success rate by 0.4. The District has implemented different strategies to increase its postsecondary effectiveness rate.  The Advisor Program, the Individual Plan of Study program, additional visits to technical schools and colleges, changes to Parent/Teacher Conferences, and a focus on well-rounded individuals are believed to have made an impact students and their life after graduation.  The District hopes that programs recently created at the lower levels lead to even greater success for future Bearcat graduates.  The Student Jobs Program and the 3rd grade Job Skills Presentations are two that have been implemented.      

 

“I am excited about this, but realize this isn’t a destination; but rather a stop on the side of the road towards our true destination of constant improvement and teaching the youth of our community the best that we possibly can!” stated Dale Brungardt, Superintendent, USD 327.  “But for now, I am pleased with the efforts, so we need to pause and celebrate these achievements.  I am thankful for our staff’s commitment to the students of our schools.  It is truly hard work and very important work that they do for 327.”