Latest news with #ReneeErickson
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kansas task force debates use of graduation rate to gauge student success
Sen. Renee Erickson, second from left, a Wichita Republican who leads the Kansas Legislature's school finance task force, said Kansas should retain use of high school graduation statistics to measure student achievement despite criticism it was unclear earning the diploma meant students were prepared for college or the workforce. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from Legislature's YouTube channel) TOPEKA — Disagreement exists on the Kansas Legislature's task force reworking the state's public school finance formula about the importance of high school graduation rate as a measure of student success. A member of the task force pointed to alleged manipulation of student records at Wichita Southeast High School as evidence of why a district's annual graduation rate shouldn't be viewed as a significant metric, while others defended graduation rates as an evaluation tool when determining whether districts prepared students for the workplace or college. Rep. Kristey Williams, an Augusta Republican, said the Wichita school district had touted a 5.1 percentage point surge in its graduation rate in 2024 to 84.3%. Wichita Southeast's graduation rate climbed 12.5 percentage points in 2024 to a record-high 86.3%. Southeast's principal was replaced last week amid reports of suspected grade fixing that may have been associated with helping students meet graduation requirements. 'I wouldn't use graduation rates,' said Williams, who didn't see a meaningful correlation between graduation rate and student success. 'If we want to baby sit, that's one thing. If we want to have a safe place for them, that's one thing. But that doesn't mean you're learning anything.' Frank Harwood, a deputy commissioner of the Kansas State Department of Education, said one potential incident of administrative misconduct shouldn't justify dismissal of graduation rates as a means of measuring school districts. 'When you look at any industry, including the Legislature, there are bad actors,' he said. 'It doesn't mean you should throw out that metric all together. I'm not saying graduation rate is the best indicator, but I think it is an indicator that we can't just ignore.' The Kansas State Board of Education made elevating the state's high school graduation rate a feature in its 'Kansans Can' agenda and in terms of school district accreditation. The state board's graduation-rate goal was set at 95%. Kansas' adjusted cohort graduation rate, which tracked student graduation within four years and took into account transfers, has ranged from 86% to 89% during the past decade. In 2022-2023, more than 90 of the state's 287 school districts graduated 100% of students. Twenty school districts had graduation rates below 80% during that academic year. The Wichita district's graduation rate was at 79.2% during that period, while the Kansas City, Kansas, district came in at 73.4%. Sen. Renee Erickson, a Wichita Republican serving as chairwoman of the Legislature's school-finance task force, said Kansas should continue to include graduation rate in a set of evaluation metrics. She said the state needed to develop a definition of what a high school diploma revealed about students. Erickson said employers had reported a high school diploma didn't guarantee a quality worker. University or college officials indicated high school graduates didn't necessarily have skills to succeed in higher education, she said. 'I have post-secondary folks in my office frequently and they're saying, 'They're not prepared for our level of work,'' the senator said. 'I'm not blaming. I'm just telling you, if you can't acknowledge that, we've got a problem.' Task force member Pat Pettey, a Democratic senator from Kansas City, Kansas, said it would be folly to drop the graduation rate as an indicator of a school district's ability to prepare students for the future. 'I still am a strong supporter of graduation rates because having a high school diploma is a key to opening the first door to get a job. I don't believe it is the key, but if they don't have that they're not on a trajectory to be economically successful,' Pettey said.
Eater
3 days ago
- Business
- Eater
Acclaimed Steakhouse Bateau Is Closing for a ‘Planned Reimagining'
The acclaimed Sea Creatures restaurant group is navigating some choppy waters. On Thursday, June 5, the group, co-owned by famed chef Renee Erickson, announced in a press release that starting June 19, it will be temporarily shuttering the connected restaurants Boat Bar and Bateau as 'the company begins a planned reimagining of both restaurants.' The Capitol Hill location of its doughnut shop chain General Porpoise — which shares the space with those two restaurants — will close permanently, as will the Laurelhurst General Porpoise. The closure of Bateau and Boat Bar is expected to last three to six months, Sea Creatures said. 'We're incredibly proud of what Bateau and Boat Bar have brought to Seattle's dining scene,' Erickson said in the press release. 'This closure will allow us the time and space to refresh and retool these restaurants after a long 10 years, so they can evolve and continue to inspire.' Erickson is more associated with seafood than steak — her Walrus and the Carpenter is one of Seattle's most famous oyster bars — but Bateau has been a critical darling, attracting a lot of attention (and even a New York Times profile) for its use of unusual cuts of meat. In 2017, Eater national critic Bill Addison named it one of the 38 best restaurants in America. Even a temporary closure is a surprise. Co-owner Jeremy Price said in an email that part of the reason for the closure was that chef de cuisine Taylor Thornhill and general manager Jamie Irene happened to give notice at around the same time. 'After a decade of working together and becoming friends, we are happy for these folks, wish them the best of luck in their new roles, and can't wait to visit them in their new restaurant homes,' Price said. The release added that their departure created a 'natural transition point' for some 'long-considered changes.' Those changes will include the closure of the Capitol Hill General Porpoise, which was the company's first doughnut shop. 'We'll do our best to find positions to displaced General Porpoise Capitol Hill staff at our remaining cafés in the Amazon Spheres and Pioneer Square,' the press release said. The Laurelhurst cafe, near University Village, is being replaced by another tenant, and Sea Creatures said that all staff members there have positions at the other General Porpoises. Sign up for our newsletter.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kansas task force debates use of graduation rate to gauge student success
Sen. Renee Erickson, second from left, a Wichita Republican who leads the Kansas Legislature's school finance task force, said Kansas should retain use of high school graduation statistics to measure student achievement despite criticism it was unclear earning the diploma meant students were prepared for college or the workforce. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from Legislature's YouTube channel) TOPEKA — Disagreement exists on the Kansas Legislature's task force reworking the state's public school finance formula about the importance of high school graduation rate as a measure of student success. A member of the task force pointed to alleged manipulation of student records at Wichita Southeast High School as evidence of why a district's annual graduation rate shouldn't be viewed as a significant metric, while others defended graduation rates as an evaluation tool when determining whether districts prepared students for the workplace or college. Rep. Kristey Williams, an Augusta Republican, said the Wichita school district had touted a 5.1 percentage point surge in its graduation rate in 2024 to 84.3%. Wichita Southeast's graduation rate climbed 12.5 percentage points in 2024 to a record-high 86.3%. Southeast's principal was replaced last week amid reports of suspected grade fixing that may have been associated with helping students meet graduation requirements. 'I wouldn't use graduation rates,' said Williams, who didn't see a meaningful correlation between graduation rate and student success. 'If we want to baby sit, that's one thing. If we want to have a safe place for them, that's one thing. But that doesn't mean you're learning anything.' Frank Harwood, a deputy commissioner of the Kansas State Department of Education, said one potential incident of administrative misconduct shouldn't justify dismissal of graduation rates as a means of measuring school districts. 'When you look at any industry, including the Legislature, there are bad actors,' he said. 'It doesn't mean you should throw out that metric all together. I'm not saying graduation rate is the best indicator, but I think it is an indicator that we can't just ignore.' The Kansas State Board of Education made elevating the state's high school graduation rate a feature in its 'Kansans Can' agenda and in terms of school district accreditation. The state board's graduation-rate goal was set at 95%. Kansas' adjusted cohort graduation rate, which tracked student graduation within four years and took into account transfers, has ranged from 86% to 89% during the past decade. In 2022-2023, more than 90 of the state's 287 school districts graduated 100% of students. Twenty school districts had graduation rates below 80% during that academic year. The Wichita district's graduation rate was at 79.2% during that period, while the Kansas City, Kansas, district came in at 73.4%. Sen. Renee Erickson, a Wichita Republican serving as chairwoman of the Legislature's school-finance task force, said Kansas should continue to include graduation rate in a set of evaluation metrics. She said the state needed to develop a definition of what a high school diploma revealed about students. Erickson said employers had reported a high school diploma didn't guarantee a quality worker. University or college officials indicated high school graduates didn't necessarily have skills to succeed in higher education, she said. 'I have post-secondary folks in my office frequently and they're saying, 'They're not prepared for our level of work,'' the senator said. 'I'm not blaming. I'm just telling you, if you can't acknowledge that, we've got a problem.' Task force member Pat Pettey, a Democratic senator from Kansas City, Kansas, said it would be folly to drop the graduation rate as an indicator of a school district's ability to prepare students for the future. 'I still am a strong supporter of graduation rates because having a high school diploma is a key to opening the first door to get a job. I don't believe it is the key, but if they don't have that they're not on a trajectory to be economically successful,' Pettey said.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Why Kansas Reflector filed a complaint about stonewalling by the Senate efficiency panel
Sen. Renee Erickson listens at a hearing on March 31, 2025, at the Kansas Statehouse. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) The Kansas Open Records Act makes clear demands of state and local government. This vital law requires timely release of public records within three business days of receiving a request. If officials can't fulfill that timeline, they're required to explain why, in detail. The Kansas Senate Committee on Government Efficiency claims to be working for the good of all by ferreting out waste and bloat in state government. Perhaps it should start with itself, or at least with chairwoman Renee Erickson, R-Wichita. She led the effort to stonewall news media requests for public recommendations submitted to COGE through its online portal. Kansas Reflector requested the records from her on Feb. 25. They weren't released until April 9 — more than six weeks later. By that time, our reporter Anna Kaminski had already examined a leaked copy of public feedback. That batch of public comments suggested why Erickson pushed the public release until after the legislative session ended. Kansans blasted the committee with messages calling for Medicaid expansion, legalized cannabis and tolerance for LGBTQ+ youths. They show, in short, how anti-government narratives miss the mark in Kansas, where right-wing ideologues have poisoned the well of state government for years. On Wednesday, Kansas Reflector editor in chief Sherman Smith submitted a complaint to the state Attorney General's Office about this delay. Erickson's committee did not respond to our request in a timely manner, and the broader public suffered because crucial information was hidden from them. COGE members could access the messages in mid-March, but their constituents could not. We believe that government officials should be held responsible for delay and obfuscation. We heard attempts to justify the delays at a COGE meeting May 13. There were just so many messages. We had to screen them all. We didn't delete anything. Gordon Self, a legislative staff member, opined: 'Once the KORA requests were received and a response was made, there was a review of the records, all 2,000, to determine if any of the records did contain information. After a thorough review, there were some identified that did have some sensitive information in them.' Erickson harumphed: 'At the end of the day, there are none that have been deleted, there are none that are not available for review. But as was said, we wanted to make sure that we were not including information that was not appropriate for such a situation.' Forgive me for rolling my eyes. These self-satisfied excuses don't add up. None of the messages reviewed by Kansas Reflector staff appear to include sensitive information that the government had to shield from prying eyes. As noted earlier, a tranche of unredacted submissions was leaked to us in late March. We have compared the two versions. There's no there there. In one message, for instance, Statehouse staff omitted a profane phrase. That didn't protect anyone's personal or private information. In another case, the same suggestion was apparently submitted in two categories. The messages mention Senate President Ty Masterson's lucrative side hustle at Wichita Stare University, where he earns more than $150,000 a year as 'director of GoCreate, a Koch Collaborative.' In one of them, Masterson's name has been redacted, along with that of the author. In the other, neither Masterson nor the author has been redacted. Only a few dozen of the thousand-plus messages saw any redactions at all. Perhaps Statehouse staff don't have the slightest idea what they're doing. Perhaps they made a few random edits to the messages to justify the month-plus delay. Neither option should fill Kansans with confidence in their legislators or the work of COGE. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, he COGE web portal includes the warning that 'Portal submissions are public records that are subject to the Kansas Open Records Act.' Those sending in feedback have to check a box next to that warning. Why even bother to do that if you're going to screen the material afterward? Like other public records conflicts, this runs the risk of sounding petty. So what, I can hear some readers ask. You got the information anyway. Why fuss? My answer remains the same as when I wrote about Emporia Stare University's unconscionable response in turning over information to Kansas Reflector. This information belongs to everyone. Lawmakers don't get to pass a law and then arbitrarily decide whether to follow it. If they expect town and county governments to follow KORA, if they expect other state agencies to follow KORA, they can damn well follow it themselves. That's what justice and fair play demands. That's what their fellow Kansans deserve. And it's what we're going to do, no matter Erickson's sanctimonious claptrap. COGE kora complaint Clay Wirestone is Kansas Reflector opinion editor. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
School funding task force warns of fearmongering. Kansas K-12 supporters have reason to be afraid.
Sen. Renee Erickson chats on the Senate floor during the April 10, 2025, veto session. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) Republicans who want to strip public schools of funding, impoverish teachers and stunt learning opportunities for the littlest Kansans have accused educators of 'fearmongering.' Unfortunately, the fearmongers have a point. Legislators in Topeka underfunded schools for years. The state Supreme Court not only ordered them to change course but kept jurisdiction over the case for five years to ensure compliance. That binding ruling came down in 2019, only to be interrupted by a global pandemic. Now our Legislature plans to rewrite the school funding formula, this time without court oversight. Given lawmakers' past actions and current rhetoric, educators' concerns sound well founded. This session alone, lawmakers reneged on a pledge to significantly boost special education funding. They had made the pledge just last year, but budget-busting tax cuts proved too alluring. They advocated a mammoth school voucher bill, one that would funnel state money to wealthy families (the proposal didn't make it through this year). And just coincidentally, they sent a constitutional amendment to voters that would change the process for selecting state Supreme Court judges — possibly leading to an anti-education high court. These legislative actions, taken as a whole, suggest that lawmakers want nothing more than to spend less on public schools, shift resources to private religious institutions and face the absolute minimum of scrutiny while doing so. Of course no one will admit to this, but one only has to watch what's happening and connect the dots. That's all before we come to formula rewrites. While the words sound wonky, the outcome couldn't be more important. Officials are deciding how to fund the state's schools for years to come. If they don't get this right, or if they seek to pull back from prior commitments, a whole generation of Kansas kids could suffer. A task force held hearings on the subject May 6 and May 7, and Kansas Reflector senior reporter Tim Carpenter covered day one and day two. Just listen to the voices of those who will be deciding the future of public education. The task force chairwoman, Sen. Renee Erickson, a Wichita Republican: 'There has been a poisoning of the well against this process already, and superintendents are worried. It doesn't benefit anyone to poison the well and already start gearing up for an expensive lawsuit without having anything to sue over yet. That mentality is not helpful to anyone in this process.' Rep. Scott Hill, an Abilene Republican: 'I find it bordering on immoral that people would understand, which we all do, that we've been teaching kids wrong for a long time. And, to not change that teaching direction on their own without supplemental money is abhorrent.' Erickson again: 'By no means am I going to allow the Legislature to be the convenient villain in this reading scenario. It just defies logic.' Erickson once more: 'We overpay our ineffective teachers way too much. The longer they're embedded in the system, the harder it is to get rid of the teachers who are not doing right by our kiddos. The sad truth of the matter is those are the teachers that are the highest paid because they've been there the longest.' This should put anyone who cares about public education on high alert, if they aren't already. The grandstanding about reading scores, which came on the first day, shows lawmakers shifting the blame as quickly and forcefully as they can. They allocate the money. They pay the teachers. If they don't like the scores, they can try following the law for a time and see what happens. They could even support the Blueprint for Literacy plan they created just last year. Instead, members and point fingers and accuse others of overreacting. As for ineffective teachers, that quote came from a discussion about setting a floor on teacher salaries. To her credit, task force vice chairwoman and Rep. Susan Estes, R-Wichita, tried to have a civil discussion on the matter. That appears to have quickly gone south. Rep. Kristey Williams, R-Augusta, promptly suggested that teachers could get second jobs. Erickson then backed up the idea that quality teaching somehow has nothing to do with seniority or pay. Finally, task force members sounded bearish about paying for pre-K programs targeting at-risk children. For Williams, the problem appeared to be that a state program competed with parochial ones: 'We have put out of business many Christian schools, preschools and other types of classical education because they can't compete with a free education.' And I'm sure that at-risk 3- and 4-year-olds all come from families that can pour money into such programs. Look, we don't know what the task force will end up proposing. Perhaps the concerns of superintendents and others with eyes and ears will lead members to take a more constructive path. A clear-eyed view of the situation, however, suggests that those raising alarms have reason to do so. Why would the state underfund special ed, try to increase voucher programs and pass that constitutional amendment? Why would task force members attack schools and experienced educators? An answer comes to mind, and it sure doesn't involve spending more money. Kansas lawmakers appear prepared to kick the state's students and teachers off a ledge while loudly proclaiming their innocence. Clay Wirestone is Kansas Reflector opinion editor. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.
