Wichita Public Schools is a large urban district of 48,547 students of which 46% of the students are minority and 51% qualify for free and/or reduced lunch.

Wichita Public Schools is guided by a strategic plan developed in 1993 by a group of 230 individuals chosen to be representatives of the district's richly varied school community. An important component of the plan is an effective, aligned professional development program focused on the four districts goals: increased student achievement, reduction in the achievement gap between groups of students, increased graduation rate, and prepared graduates.

Exemplary practices include campus support teachers who provide on-site coaching in best practices; individual professional development plans for every employee -- certified and non-certified -- that focus on achievement of the district objectives; and school improvement planning that includes a results-based staff development plan for all teachers.

Reading, writing and math scores are improving in this district that includes increasing numbers of economically disadvantaged, special education and minority students. Each year, the district administers the MAT7, a norm-referenced, standardized test, to all students in grades three to eight. Since 1995 the average percentile scores of all student groups have continued to increase. The average percentile score for third grade has jumped from the 50th percentile to the 61st percentile; fifth grade math has gone from the 54th percentile to the 64th percentile.

Contact Information

Wichita Public Schools
Mary Ellen Isaac, Director, School Improvement/Staff Development
201 North Water
Wichita, Kansas 67202
316-973-4623
316-973-4770 (fax)
meisaac@feist.com

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