KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Students are at school for nearly eight hours a day, but once they're done, they head home.
That's where Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools district leaders want to focus.
They're looking to provide any resources parents may need to continue that education inside the home.
The new initiative, called Parents as Partners, has a total of eight workshops. One of those workshops will be held Tuesday night at W.A. White Elementary School.
The workshops are for students in elementary, middle or high school.
There are a number of different topics that will be discussed. They include: FAFSA, special education, transportation, food and nutrition and literacy.
"Let's say you have a high school student, or let's say you have an elementary student, but you want to go to scholarships and financial aid," KCKPS Superintendent Dr. Charles Foust said. "So we are there with our college career readiness with what FAFSA is, what to expect, when they're going to college, what applications, college application deadlines, due dates, that whole realm of after high school."
One goal the district has is raising its proficiency to 40 percent by 2023.
There's a 10-year goal to increase it by 70 percent come 2030.
The superintendent said one way to do that is by making sure parents have access to the community resources they need to help their child succeed.
"The last one showed we were at 22 percentage points," Dr. Foust said. "And so our teachers, our principals and our parents are all in sync with, 'Okay, I understand this. I understand what we have to do.' But I just believe you get more momentum when you actually tell parents this is where we're going and this is where I need you to push yourself."
The workshop will be held at W.A. White Elementary from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
District leaders encourage parents to attend workshops based on their child's feeder school.
"A feeder pattern consists of a group of schools that a child will attend as he or she transitions from elementary to middle school and middle to high school," the district stated.
Here are the other workshop dates, and locations. All will start at the same time; 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Emerson Elementary (All sessions will be presented in Spanish at this site) - Thursday, Feb. 20
Quindaro Elementary School - Monday, Feb. 24
Hazel Grove Elementary - (To be held at Eisenhower Middle School campus) - Wednesday, Feb. 26
McKinley Elementary (All sessions will be presented in Spanish at this site) - Thursday, Feb. 27
New Stanley Elementary - Thursday, March 12
Lindbergh Elementary (To be held at the Gloria Willis Middle School campus) - Wednesday, March 25
