Catalina Melgoza
Editorial Assistant
Northeast News

School Smart KC is a local non-profit organization that helps schools in the area succeed through an influx of funding and other resources.

Every year, School Smart KC holds a panel with eight public schools in the area, and chooses a few to fund for the year. This year Gladstone Elementary, Northeast High School, and Wendell Phillips Elementary received funding boosts between $200,000 and $600,000.

Douglas Bolden, Principal of Northeast High School, said that they would use the funds for professional development and literacy.

“It would help with the school’s accountability and school improvement plan because everything is about alignment,” said Bolden.

Dana Carter, Principal of Gladstone Elementary, says she will use the money to improve teacher and student proficiency levels by bringing data coaches in to work with teachers at the school. Wendell Phillips Principal Deloris Brown says she will use the funds to invest in the families of the school and start programs that will help those students that deal with traumatic experiences.

Every school wants to better their education and programming for their students, and School Smart KC offers that help to schools in the area. Noah Devine is the Director of Educational Investments with School Smart KC, and Angelique Nedved is the organization’s Direct of School Quality. Together, they make in-person school visits and do a lot of one-on-one work with the schools that are funded.

“Each school has a different plan and are doing different things with the funds; that is the best part about all of this,” says Devine.

These three schools are looking forward to an exciting school year with all the new ideas and plans that have been funded. To them, School Smart KC is the start of a better future for education in Kansas City, and the organization has pledged to continue to serve schools in the area to help students gain the knowledge they need to become successful in their education.