Kansas Governor Laura Kelly discussed several pressing education matters with area school superintendents as part of her “back to Work, Back to School” tour Monday.
At Council Grove Elementary, one of the main focal points was COVID-19 response, especially connected to learning loss. USD 417 Morris County Superintendent Aron Dody says learning loss isn’t as “generic” as it’s been made out to be.
Dody says Morris County has also taken an approach of investing resources to help children learn, even though not all the items will be directly connected to education. The district is hiring teachers to have smaller sections at its elementary school. It’s also seeing the benefits of having more nurses on staff, both for students and faculty.
Dody says K-12 education is in a better spot under Kelly’s leadership than it has been in the past and superintendents appreciate her emphasis on education.
Later in the day, Governor Kelly stopped at Olpe High to conduct a second roundtable among other business. Much of that discussion revolved around the ongoing teacher shortage. The governor says she plans to study available resources and look at potential strategies to increase the number of teachers in Kansas.
