This National School Choice Week, I’m proud to be celebrating my school | Commentary

I have taught in a small, rural school in Rosalia, Kansas, for the past 28 years. Because of the rural nature of our school, we believe very strongly in forming relationships with students and the community.

In 2020 the Kansas Department of Education launched the Kansans Can School Redesign Project, an effort to rebuild schools so that they are driven by student success skills; personalized learning; real-world applications; and family, business, and community partnerships. Last year my school began the redesign process. This was a wonderful experience that allowed our staff to discuss what our ideal school would look like if we had no limitations placed on us. We were encouraged to dream big!

As part of the process I, along with a fellow teacher and our school principal, attended training every month that prepared us to lead our staff through the changes to come. One of our first activities was to outline our school’s core values. Through this activity we discovered that our elementary, middle, high school administration and our school board are all on the same page in knowing what our core values are. In our school district, we believe students are the top priority, and every student has unique needs, interests and abilities; that every student can learn and be successful and education is a lifelong process; and that school is the hub of the community, so education needs be a collaborative process between educators, students, parents and the community. Identifying our core values allowed us to begin to strategize how we were going to turn our school into the school of our dreams.

At the middle and high school levels we decided that we were no longer going to solely focus on “college bound” students. Instead, our school implemented schedules and curriculum designed to prepare all students for whatever path they choose. While some of our students do indeed go on to college, many others go on to receive additional career and technical education, enter the military or enter directly into the workforce. Education is about making sure that every one of these students has the tools and foundation they need to be successful in their chosen field

We also implemented “Choice Days” where outside speakers present and students engage in hands-on learning to develop a broad range of skills that include cooking, sewing, roping cattle and swing dancing.

Even though our district has fewer than 300 students, we know we are making a difference. Recognizing how special our school is, many alumni return to have their own children attend the schools they graduated from. Our student body also includes many out-of-district students who travel more than 20 miles to be a part of our community.

For our community, this is exactly what school choice means: fostering a school environment that serves every student’s individual needs so thoroughly that it encourages alumni to return with their children and out-of-district families to drive for miles so that their children attend our school. So this National School Choice Week (Jan. 23-29) I’m celebrating my school, my community, and most importantly, my students.

Michal Austin teaches art to grades 3-12 and sponsors several clubs in Rosalia.