North Lyon County USD 251 Recognized in Kansas Can Star Recognition Program
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Recently, North Lyon County USD 251 received notification from the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) congratulating them for awards through the Kansas Can Star Recognition program. At the September 9th USD 251 Board of Education Meeting Dr. Randy Watson, Kansas Commissioner of Education congratulated the board of education, staff, and students. According to Dr. Watson, USD 251 is only 1 of 40 out of a total of 347 accredited public and private schools in Kansas that were awarded all four awards. Dr. Watson challenged the school district to “continue to set the bar high for students.” Watson indicated that two prior award recognition ceremonies for these top 40 school districts were canceled earlier this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
North Lyon County received a 2019 Postsecondary Effectiveness: Bronze Award; 2019 Graduation Rate: Bronze Award; 2019 Academically Prepared for Postsecondary Success: Copper Award; and the 2019 Commissioner’s Award.
Five years ago, the KSDE launched its new vision for education – Kansas leads the world in the success of each student and identified key outcomes Kansans said they valued. These outcomes include social-emotional growth, kindergarten readiness, individual plan of study, civic engagement, high school graduation and postsecondary success.
Kansas Can Star Recognition Awards mission and requirements include:
- The Postsecondary Effectiveness Star Award recognizes districts that exceed the predicted effectiveness rates compared to their actual effectiveness rate. This is based on a five-year average of the percent of high school graduates who either earned an industry-recognized certification, a higher education degree or continued their education two years after high school education.
- Graduation Rate Star Award recognizes districts with graduation rates above the state average.
- Academically Prepared for Postsecondary Success Star Award recognizes districts for the percent of all students, across all grade levels scoring at the two highest levels on Kansas state assessments in Math, English Language Arts, and Science. It is the combination of all grades in all three assessed subjects.
- Commissioner’s Award recognizes districts that outperform their predicted effectiveness rate above a .40 standard deviation. A district’s predicted postsecondary effectiveness rate factors in the degree to which identified risk factors such as poverty, chronic absenteeism and student mobility are present in a district’s student population.
North Lyon County USD 251 Superintendent Robert Blair stated, “This is a wonderful honor for our teachers, administrators, staff, students, and parents. This is a recognition that should be celebrated in our school district as we continue to strive for excellence in student achievement and success.”
These awards are a culmination of many years of hard work and commitment by the USD 251 staff to prepare students for future success beyond high school graduation.