'Beating the Odds' study shines light on KCPS, Hickman Mills schools making academic gains

A PRiME Center study from Saint Louis University raises up high-poverty schools in Missouri that are among the best in showing growth in state test performance.

Fully accredited: KCPS community rejoices

The six years it took for Superintendent Mark Bedell to lead the Kansas City Public Schools to the promised land of full accreditation would have been wilderness enough.

But the joy that swept over the resilient school district Tuesday burst from 22 years of pain that longtime educators and a community of partners and supporters have carried since the state stripped accreditation in 2000.

Front Porch Alliance–LINC robotics team at Faxon shines in FIRST Lego League tourney

The judges were waiting. And Faxon Elementary School’s robotics teams were up. Nervous? Oh yes. But now it was time to show why Faxon and its partners at the Front Porch Alliance this year decided to move its robotics program to after-school hours with LINC.

Gift of stocking hats delights LINC children

Winter is on the way, and a LINC volunteer knitted stocking hats for children that were richly colored and soft as plush teddy bears.

LINC's Girls on the Run, Let Me Run boys and their fans celebrate 5K triumphs

Talk about your perfect days. Girls on the Run and the Let Me Run boys program set out in gorgeous fall weather for their big 5K runs Saturday, and we’ve got photos.

'New moments. New memories.' Lights On Afterschool helps turn the page

With grace and hard-won joy, the annual Lights On Afterschool events returned with their resilient communities in celebration of the power of community schools .

Watch us dance! Lights On Afterschool hits the big time

If our Lights On Afterschool festivities were Times Square on New Year’s Eve, the ball has dropped. The cats are out of the bag. The book tour has finished to rave reviews. It’s been quite a show.

Lights On Afterschool gathering steam; take a peek at the fun

In just a sampling of the shows going on in LINC’s Caring Communities (there’s more to come), we’ve seen Mad Science, pizza parties, dancing grandmas and other creative costumes, raucous fitness fun as well as some joy of reading.

Feeling special: LINC gives books to kids for Lights On Afterschool

LINC prepares again to give away high-quality, inclusive children’s books as part of the annual Lights On Afterschool celebrations. “I love new books,” says LINC’s Edina von Hofman. “They give you a sense of feeling special.”

Roll on up! LINC's Lights On Afterschool events bringing October fun

Pizza parties, Mad Science, bountiful home-grown meals, give-away books, cupcakes and some whip and nae-nae fitness dancing . . . LINC’s Lights On Afterschool is under way with many more community events to come during the week of Oct. 25–30.

LINC helps parents bring media attention to dangerous traffic at King Elementary

Parents and neighbors at Martin Luther King Elementary School — with LINC’s help — say they are just getting started in trying to protect their children from the dangerous traffic that rushes by their school.

Emotional day: LINC school families enjoy safe, joyful reunions

The promise of a new year, new friends, new games and educational adventures unfolded across some 40 LINC Caring Communities before- and after-school programs Monday in the Kansas City, Hickman Mills, Center, North Kansas City and Grandview school districts.

Making our Schoolyard Gardens grow; kids' Thanksgiving harvest dreams start here

July’s sun was mounting the sky toward a 100-plus-degree heat index. But Hartman Caring Communities Coordinator Martin Jackson mopped his head with a towel and put his thoughts on Thanksgiving. By then, he said, these beds of soil LINC staff were building with the Kansas City Community Gardens will have been planted, watered and nurtured by LINC’s after-school kids.

'Find your community'; In critical year ahead, schools want you back, welcomed and safe

It doesn't matter how well — or not — you and your child managed Covid’s hard time. A common message is brewing. Children, however much they struggled with online learning, will be advanced with their peers into the next grade. Everyone will recover together. Schools’ plea: Just come back.

Kansas City Public Schools' anti-suspension policy takes stand for equity, prosperity

The Kansas City Public Schools took a stand against historical injustice and the school-to-prison pipeline when its board voted to end discretionary suspensions of elementary school children Wednesday night.

The way out of violence: Give youthful courage and grace the reins

I believe we all know who truly has to make this happen – and it’s not us. As a place-holder name, I’m calling for a new generation of “peace ambassadors.” But I expect that the young people who are going to lead us – tweens, teenagers and 20-somethings – will give this campaign their own name. Their own power.

Reunited! The whole family is back for LINC's KCPS programs (and it feels so good)

Startled squeals turned into laughter. Children looked delightedly into the faces of all their friends in a spontaneous glow. Everyone together. Finally. No more classroom splits by A days and B days.

School bonds, levies win big; KC earnings tax triumphs; school board races tight

Bond issues, levies and the earnings tax won big, but many school board races ran tight. See how the final, unofficial totals came out in the April 6 election for our partner school districts.

Kansas City education leaders urge COVID vaccinations

Their districts’ neighborhoods are hard-hit by Covid, but “here we have an opportunity to do something about it,” said KCPS Superintendent Mark Bedell as he was vaccinated. “I’m doing my part to keep everyone safe,” said Center Superintendent Yolanda Cargile.

Updates: Students returning to classrooms as Covid cases fall, with new CDC guidance

t’s been a long road. That’s for sure. But continued declines in Covid-19 cases plus more aggressive advice from the Centers for Disease Control are opening the doors for Kansas City Public Schools, Hickman Mills and Center to bring students back into in-person classrooms in the weeks ahead. And other districts hope to bring more students into already-open buildings.