Flying cars. Bullet trains that go from KC to Saint Louis in less than an hour. Solar powered homes and FINALLY a basketball team in the Sprint (whoops T-Mobile) Center. These are all things that I predict will happen in the next decade. However, what do you think Kansas City Public School will look like? Better question, what do you want it to look like?

Well, NOW is the time to define the next 10 years through your engagement in the District’s Blueprint 2030 strategic planning process. An hour of your time may mean YOU advocate for that music program you’ve always wanted at your middle school or that soccer team that’s been needed at your high school. It may mean the redesign of the curriculum taught in our system to be more inclusive of diverse narratives and histories, or the re-immersion of career and technology focuses in some schools, putting skilled trades ahead of college access. What will your KCPS look like in 10 years?

Please attend one of the upcoming community forums. Make your voices heard and advocate for your communities. Be a part of the decision making and be there before the tough decisions have to be made to prioritize new directions. Undoubtedly, we must sacrifice some things to become the most efficient system we can, and that includes building closures, but it will mean the refocusing of programs and resources to give our students more than they have now. As a community, we must come together, putting their futures and the future of the next generation of students ahead of our own egos or interests. Let’s do this together, let’s create an original, innovative and empowered public school district, accountable to you all. Show up, and we can do just that!

More information about the process and next steps can be found here:

https://www.kcpublicschools.org/about/blueprint-2030

Manny Abarca,
KCPS Board of Education, Treasurer,
Sub-District 3 Representative