A major donation will be benefiting USD 253 as it continues to work on its new early learning center.
In an update Wednesday during the USD 253 Board of Education meeting, USD 253 Superintendent Kevin Case made a major announcement.
Board President Art Guttierez expressed his excitement and gratitude for the donation.
Case says the grant will be combined with existing grant money, approved by voters last fall, to help provide a wide range of early childhood and community-based services. Following the announcement, the board received a look at the current Early Learning Center floor plan from HTK Architects representative Zach Snethen.
The new early learning facility will be located directly west of Riverside Elementary on property currently owned by USD 253 according to Case. An exact address has yet to be announced.
In other business, Village Elementary School staff presented the school’s Apollo II redesign proposal and gained unanimous approval from board members. Village will now apply to be a part of the 2020-21 Apollo II cohort.
The redesign effort is built on four main pillars one of which includes a focus on social-emotional learning. Village Principal John Martin says this is an area Village has been focused on since he came to Emporia.
Martin explains he spent the majority of his first year at Village developing a social-emotional learning system tailored to Village students.
Martin says all of their staff are eager to undergo redesign and the school has also received backing from the Emporia National Education Association. Village now becomes the fifth Emporia school to seek redesign following William Allen White, Logan Avenue and Walnut Elementary Schools as well as Emporia Middle School.
The Apollo II program is a part of the Kansas State Department of Education’s Kansas Can initiative.
The USD 253 Board of Education will reconvene for their next regular meeting Wednesday, Jun. 24 at 7 pm via Zoom.
