Martin City holds “Coffee with the Superintendent”
By John Sharp and Kathy Feist
Those interested in what’s happening in the Grandview C-4 School District can get answers to their questions directly from Superintendent Kenny Rodrequez at a Coffee with the Superintendent event at 9 a.m. Saturday, February 3, at Martin City K8 School, 201 E. 133rd St.
This is one of a series of coffees Rodrequez is hosting in the district to meet with parents and other interested persons.
“The coffees are a way I can communicate with them as well as a way I can get information out about the good things that are happening in the school district,” says Rodrequez.
Some of the positive developments, according to Rorequez, include:
- Burns & McDonnell’s Battle of the Brains Winners – Grandview’s elementary age
Grandview’s FOCUS team was recently treated to a celebratory luncheon courtesy McDonald’s at 130th & State Line. The team won the Burns & McDonnell’s Battle of the Brains competition in November. FOCUS team won the fourth annual citywide competition with their project “The Big Brain Theory.” The concept will materialize at Union Station’s Science City. Sixteen students from various Grandview schools participated. “Anytime you have a program that makes the front page of The Star, it’s an accomplishment,” says Rodrequez.
- Project Lead the Way – Grandview become one of 45 school districts that was recognized for being a 100 Percent Access District by Project Lead the Way. This means STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) classes are offered to all students from Kindergarten to 12th Grade. “All students have access to hands-on project modules that are engineer based,” says Rodrequez.
- Cultural Differences – Rodrequez says the school is diligent about discussing cultural differences both at the student and adult level. “Sometimes the kids are better at dealing with this than our adults are,” he says. “We need to have these conversations as adults and they aren’t always fun conversations.”
- High School Accomplishments – This year saw a higher graduation rate and a 1 point increase in ACT scores, said Rodrequez.
- Career Ready – “My goal is that every kid is career ready and has a path,” says Rodrequez. “I don’t care if it is college or another career. What I care about is that every child knows what they are doing after high school and we’ve prepared them for that.”
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