Wichita Public Schools

Rick Pendland only worked as a teacher in the Wichita School District for five years.  But he made quite an impression on Wendell Turner.  His grandson was in Pendland's sixth grade math class in 2006 at Hamilton Middle School.  But Turner said Pendland wanted to be more than just a teacher. "He would call up and say, 'Barry do you want to go swimming with me?'  Grown men don't do that.  And, we wouldn't let him go,” Turner said. The Wichita School District confirmed Pendland worked at Hamilton Middle from 2003 to 2008.  Turner says, during Pendland's last year in Wichita, he tried to foster Turner's two grandsons.

Enrollment for the 2011-12 school year is July 28 - 29 and August 1 - 3. Enrollment times for each school can be found at www.enroll.usd259.org . The first day of school for all students is August 17, with a half-day orientation for sixth- and ninth-grade students on August 16.  Returning parents with a Parent Assist log on account have the option of enrolling their children online, allowing them to complete standard enrollment forms,...

The 2011 Excellence in Public Service Award winners were announced today in separate surprise announcements at their respective jobs. The winners are: "       Mary K. Vaughn, the City of Wichita's Housing and Community Services Director; "       Carol Cole, Executive Secretary in the Sedgwick County Commissioners Office; "       And Colleen Fulford, a Clinical Behavioral Specialist at West High School. Winners were selected from thousands of eligible workers from the City of Wichita, Sedgwick County and Wichita Public Schools.

Superintendent John Allison detailed what the district is calling “Phase 2” in its effort to cut $30 million dollars from the budget. Allison held a news conference Thursday afternoon. "It hasn’t been an easy week," said Allison. He says the district has told 72 employees they no longer have a position.  Most of the cuts are at the central office level and include MTSS facilitators, family engagement programs, grants office and curriculum support services, JROTC support and several other areas.

The Wichita public school system is offering a one-time early retirement incentive for certain employees. It's part of working out a budget that needs to cut $30-million. The incentive will include a waiver of up to 12 months of health plan coverage premiums (medical, dental and pharmacy). The benefit ends at the conclusion of 12 months OR when a retiree begins to draw the USD259 bridge OR when a retiree turns 65 - whichever comes first. In order to be eligible, an employee must:     Be an active licensed/certified Wichita Public Schools teacher and/or administrative employee     Have 83 or more KPERS points OR are 62 years of age with 10 years of service     Not be drawing Wichita Public Schools bridge payments     Be less than 65 years of age     Be one of the first 200 to accept the offer by 4:45 p.m. on April 20 and retire at the end of the 2010-11 school year Those eligible to consider the early retirement incentive will be notified directly by Mary Whiteside, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources.

In a news conference Monday afternoon, Wichita superintendent John Allison announced that only Wichita high school seniors will attend school additional days because of snow. Seniors at North and Northeast Magnet will attend through May 16. All others will attend through May 17. Wichita schools canceled classes six times this year because of weather. "As soon as we realized we had issues with calendar days due to snow, the Wichita Public Schools took specific actions to claim as many hours as we could so we did not lose any instructional time and have as little impact to the school calendar as possible," Allison said in a statement.

For Kacy Standley, the mother of a first grader, Tuesday's meeting is a last resort.       "I already know my kid is being bullied," she said. "But I want a solution. " Standley says nothing has helped her 7-year-old, not meeting with school staff, not even switching schools.       "I can have meetings, and it will get better for a bit, but it just goes back to the same thing," she explained. "You should not have to deal with it. " Standley wants answers from this bullying seminar put on by Wichita Public Schools.

The Buhler USD 313 Board of Education has chosen Dr. Dan Stiffler as its next superintendent. The Board approved Stiffler's two year contract by a 7-0 vote. He fills the vacancy left by Dr. David Brax, who will leave this summer to become superintendent of schools in Savannah, Missouri. Stiffler currently serves as Assistant Superintendent for Personnel and Chief Quality Officer for Haysville Public Schools. He will assume his new role as superintendent July 1, 2011.

Classes will resume on Friday for Wichita Public Schools. Students were out of school for the last three days due to the windchill being very low. Activities will also resume as scheduled for the district. Because some roads may not be clear, some buses may be running 15 - 30 minutes late. Parents are asked to make sure their children are dressed appropriately for the cold weather, or keep their children inside a house or vehicle until the bus arrives if at all possible.