TOPEKA — The Confidence in Kansas Public Education Task Force has named 78 schools in 28 Kansas public school districts as recipients of the 2017 Challenge Awards. Recipients included two elementary schools in Great Bend USD 428 and three schools in Lyons USD 405.
The Challenge Award recognizes schools for outstanding achievement and uncommon accomplishments based on Kansas Assessment results, the sample size, graduation rates, attendance and the socio-economic status of those taking the test.
Area schools receiving a 2017 Challenge Award include:
• Park Elementary School in Great Bend, for fifth-grade reading.
• Eisenhower Elementary School in Great Bend, for sixth-grade reading.
• Lyons Middle School, for sixth-grade math and sixth-grade reading.
• Lyons High School, for 10th-grade math.
• Lyons Central Elementary School, for third-grade reading.
The awards recognize Kansas schools that are making a notable difference in student achievement despite facing significant challenges in their school population, according to a news release from the Kansas State Department of Education. Since its inception in 2002, more than 1,500 awards have been presented to schools across the state.
Certificates of Merit will be presented to schools by Kansas State Board of Education members.
The Confidence in Public Education Task Force is a nonprofit corporation whose primary purpose is to strengthen confidence in Kansas public education and to increase awareness of the positive aspects of public education in the state. The Task Force was created in 1981.
Members of the Task Force include American Association of University Women; Kansas PTA; Kansas Association of School Boards; Kansas National Education Association; Kansas State Board of Education; Kansas State High School Activities Association; Kansas Partners in Education; League of Women Voters – Kansas; and United School Administrators of Kansas.