National Gold Key Awards
Free State High's Hannah Lodwick (painting) and Scott Weyland (ceramics) received National Gold Key Awards and will be honored, and have their works displayed, at Carnegie Hall in New York City in June as part of the National Scholastic Arts and Writing Competition.
Statewide Education Panel
Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius appointed Linda Robinson, Lawrence Board of Education president, to the Governor's P-20 Education Council.
Photography Exhibit
Lawrence High students Trisha McElfresh and DaSom Park won acceptance to the National Art Honor Society of The Art Institute of Mill Street Loft in New York's 5th annual juried high school photography exhibition, exposure 2008. Their works will be displayed in the New York Mill Street Gallery Exhibition April 18-May 1.
Future Business Leader
Lawrence High's Katie Stohs will serve as Region VI Future Business Leaders of America Vice President for Kansas during the 2008-09 school year. Stohs and Kasey Duncan, Blake Greenfield and Samanatha Overfield also will compete at the FBLA Nationals in Atlanta June 26-29.
Teacher Grants
AverVision cameras, kinetic paper sculptures, kindergarten story bags, stress busters, healthy cooking and employment training. These are a few of the innovative learning tools and ideas for which Lawrence teachers sought and received funds from the Lawrence Schools Foundation. It awarded $23,000 in Teacher Innovation Grants to assist faculty in 13 schools with creative student-learning projects.
Art Awards
The Kansas Art Education Association awarded a senior scholarship to Ellen Howat, Free State High, for her pastel self-portrait displayed during Youth Art Month at the State Capitol. Free State's Scott Weyland received Honorable Mention and a Studio Potter's Award for his ceramic work at the National K-12 Ceramic Exhibition Foundation.
National Merit Finalists
The National Merit Scholarship Program announces that all Lawrence High and Free State High National Merit Semifinalists have advanced to Finalists in the 53rd annual program. These academically talented seniors will compete for some 8,200 Merit Scholarship Awards, worth $43 million. Congratulations: Justine Ahle, Cori Allen, Laura Drees, Kate Falkenstien, Joshua Frederick, Raquel Gonzalez, Maxwell Gregoire, Mitchell Haverty, Clara Kundin and Anthony Twarog, of Free State High; and Xander Casad, Lin Chen, Yoshika Crider, Stephanie Drahozal, Stephanie Jian and Erin Thimmesch, of Lawrence High.
Presidential Scholar Candidates
The White House Commission on Presidential Scholars and the U.S. Department of Education selected Yoshika Crider and Stephanie Drahozal, Lawrence High, and Kate Falkenstien, Free State High, as candidates in the Presidential Scholars Program, one of the nation's highest honors for high school students.
Governor's Award
Broken Arrow Elementary School earned the Governor's Achievement Award for student performance on the 2007 math and reading assessments. Students achieved the Kansas Standard of Excellence in both subject areas schoolwide and at each of the grade levels tested. Broken Arrow's performance on the state assessments ranks the school among the top five percent of elementary schools in Kansas. Congratulations, Broken Arrow students, parents and staff!
National Ranking
Expansion Management magazine's 2007 Education Quotient ranks Lawrence Public Schools among the Top Ten of the "Best Metro School Districts" in the United States and a "Five-Star Public Schools Metro." Read More.
Standards of Excellence
Congratulations, Kansas Standard of Excellence Schools: (In Reading and Math) Broken Arrow, Cordley, Deerfield, Langston Hughes, New York, Quail Run, Schwegler, Sunflower, Sunset Hill, Wakarusa Valley and Woodlawn Elementary Schools, and Free State and Lawrence High Schools; and (In Reading) Southwest Junior High School and Lawrence Virtual School. Read more about the grade levels of students achieving the Kansas Standard of Excellence in reading and/or math. In addition, three Lawrence schools earned the Kansas Standard of Excellence in writing: Cordley, Quail Run and Lawrence Virtual School.